What is Love?
by badlucklex
Summary: Reiko had to leave her village, clan, and best friend behind when she left Suna. Now in Konoha, living with Naruto with a sibling-like relationship, and a member of Squad Seven, she grows close to a certain Uchiha. Her world turns upside down when the Chuunin Exams come around and she sees Gaara again. Does he remember her? Does he hate her? And what about Sasuke?
1. Prologue

**Hello Readers! This is a sort of rewrite of a story from my old profile that I ended up forgetting the password to and then getting bust with the whirlwind of life. I have made some changes, but a faithful reader,** **lostfeather1** **, from my old version messaged me to continue this story and had been waiting for years for a new chapter despite my disappearance. I have made some minor changes, nothing important to the major plot line, but significant enough that it required a rewrite. This is only the prologue, kind of an introduction to see how people react to it. Enjoy!**

The village was quiet, full moon hanging high in the clear night sky. The civilians slept peacefully in their homes, the familiar sound of the howling wind and rustling sand a strange lullaby.

Only a single compound, housing the Sorashou Clan, was a flurry of activity as they scurried around to prepare for the ceremony. A tall, muscular man with short brown hair and hazel eyes slammed open the sliding door to his daughter's room. The small girl jerked in surprise as she was rudely awoken, rubbing her eyes sleepily as her father stalked into the room and grabbed the girl's arm before dragging her behind him.

"What's going on, Papa?" the girl asked, voice thick with sleep as she stumbled behind him, barely keeping her footing.

His pace was fast, and she could only get glimpses of her clan sprinting past her with serious expressions. Her mind was slow in processing her surroundings, but once she fully become aware, her heart raced in fear. He abruptly stopped, his daughter colliding with his backside as he threw another door open and tossed her unceremoniously inside. She yelped when she hit the floor of the large room used primarily for performing traditional ceremonies.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" she cried out, trying to glare hatefully at the man who raised her as tears flowed unbidden down her cheeks. Her arm curled protectively on her still bruised side from her last beating.

He didn't say anything as he shut the door and placed a sealing jutsu on it so she couldn't run away. She scrambled to her feet anyway and ran towards the door, slamming her body against it. The normally flimsy paper stood as strong as stone under the seal as she banged her tiny fists against it.

"Mama!" the girl wailed, hoping her mother would save her from her violent spouse.

Short, shaggy, dirty blonde hair stuck to her wet cheeks, tears already falling to her tan nightdress. Her hazel eyes flashed stubbornly as she kicked her barefoot at the door, only to fall back from the force. She grunted when she hit the floor and ran to the window, but it was sealed as well. She shrieked in helpless rage as she stomped around the room, holding her head in her hands.

Her head shot up when she thought she heard voices, and she ran as quietly as she could to the door, pressing her ear against it.

"Are you sure this will work?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Of course, Lord Kazekage," her father replied confidently.

Her eyes now widened as she took a step away from the door. She heard a large group of people making their way towards the room she was locked in and she ran into the corner, curling up into a ball as if it would make her invisible to the world.

"Reiko is the one our clan has been waiting for," her father said when they group stopped in front of her door. "She has an affinity for both elements, and therefore can contain the guardian."

"That's not what I was asking, Sato. I want to know if you will be able to control it. I don't need another failure on my hands. We need her to get rid of that other monster, not run rampant herself."

"I assure you, I can handle my own daughter. You just worry about how we can use her to revitalize our village to its former glory."

"Good. Make sure of it."

A single set of footsteps traveled down the hall before she couldn't hear it anymore. Just as she thought no one was out there, the door was opened. Her father, three clan elders, and five of the strongest clan members poured inside, the door shutting behind them.

"Stay away!" Reiko shouted, trying to sound brave, but her voice trembled.

Her father strode purposefully towards her, grabbed her arm, and threw her roughly to the middle of the room. She jumped to her feet as fast as she could and tried to run, but the elders set the containment seal up just in time. She was throw back with a shock from the barrier as the markings glowed around her. Two of the clan stood between each elder, encircling her.

Her head jerked around, trying desperately to find some way to escape, but there was nothing she could do. She fell to her knees, tears flowing freely as she looked helplessly at the ceiling. The guardian was depicted above her, its eyes glowing as the elders started forming hand signs too fast for her to register and all of them began chanting.

Her racing heart slowed as the light from the creatures eyes spread to outline its entire being, mesmerizing the girl with its beauty. She felt as if her mind was slowly slipping away as the image grew brighter. Her eyes closed halfway and her body swayed as the light from the image slowly drifted down. The light circled down and around the girl, pooling at her feet until only the glowing eyes from above remained.

Then, just as her eyes closed and she slumped forward, her body jerked upward, levitating in the air. The smoky light shot into the girl body through her mouth as the eyes above shined brighter than ever – before fading into nothing.

The barrier glowed once more before being cancelled by the exhausted elders. The girl's body slowly drifted to the ground, laying limp. Sato approached his daughter, quickly, but cautiously as he wanted to confirm for himself that the sealing indeed worked.

He knelt beside her limp form, her face calm as if she had been sleeping the whole night. He reached out his hand to brush a damp lock of hair from her face. She may not know it, but he was extremely proud of her. She would be the one to bring this village to glory, something the Kazekage and himself have wanted for so long.

He cupped her tearstained cheek tenderly, a soft smile coming to his face.

"Oh, Reiko," he whispered gently.

"Reiko isn't here at the moment," his daughter suddenly said, her voice sounding strangely ethereal.

Her eyes snapped open, glowing just as the depiction of their guardian had before being sealed within his daughter. Sato jerked his hand back as Reiko swayed to her feet, shoulders slumped, but her head cocked to the side as she observed the ninja in the room.

"I have been watching you," Reiko said in an eerily calm voice, but it wasn't really the girl at all. It was the guardian. "I have made a pact to be the Sorashou's guardian when the couple that created your clan saved my existence. However, I have noticed that the clan has become greedy. You wish for more power, and would go so far as to seal your protector within an innocent child. You have dishonored your clan, your ancestors, and you have betrayed me. For that, none of you will survive the night."

The shinobi present ran for the door, but it suddenly burst into flames. The walls were quickly engulfed, surrounding the men as the girl watched them with a blank face. Her arm swung out and a sharp wind spun around the room, feeding the flames and killing all of those in the room. Blood stained the mats before the flames engulfed them, but wherever the girl walked, the fire would part for her.

Reiko, eyes glowing as the guardian controlled her, slowly walked forward to crouch at her father's decapitated head, face frozen in shock and fear. She tilted her head curiously before straightening. She kicked his head out of her way as she approached the sealed window, still intact despite the damage, and held out both hands, palms facing the glass. Suddenly, a strong wind was blasted from her hands, blowing back her hair, her now singed gown billowing violently from the force, and the entire wall was blown to bits. Her hands slowly lowered and eyes closed almost serenely.

Reiko groaned as she held her head, slumping forward. She felt like she was hit by a brick wall a couple times, but she easily pushed that to the back of her mind when she smelled the smoke. She spun around to see the room engulfed in flames, the walls, floor, and ceiling sliced as if by large blades, and the dismembered bodies of the shinobi that she vaguely remembered were in the room before she lost consciousness.

Her heart raced, almost beating out of her chest as she gasped for breath. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, unable to comprehend the scene before her.

She screamed.

 **Hope you like it! This is only kind of like a memory, so it won't start from this far back. It will also follow the storyline of the anime. I want people to review so I know people like it, not just those follow/favorite alerts. Even if it's just a 'awesome, can't wait for more' or 'you suck, go die', I still want to hear from you guys! Though I hope strangers won't tell me to go die.**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	2. Kakashi and Squad Seven

**Hello again! This chapter's a bit longer than I thought it would be, but I'm sure not many would complain. I wanted to get something of more substance out after that really short prologue. Enjoy!**

"Ahh!" a girl screamed, shooting upright in her bed. She was drenched in sweat, her sheets not doing much better. It looked like a certain prankster poured a bucket of water all over her while she was sleeping. She lifted a hand and placed it over her racing heart, trying to calm down by taking deep breaths.

"Reiko!" a boy shouted as he stumbled into her room, looking around for danger with narrowed eyes. "I heard you scream! Is everything alright?"

"Sorry, Naruto," she said was a weary sigh. "Just another dream. Don't worry about it."

"Oh," the whiskered blonde mumbled, blue eyes downcast. This didn't last long before he lunged forward excitedly and dragged her out of the bed. "Come on, hurry up! They're assigning the squad teams today!"

She looked at him curiously with a raised brow as he pulled her to the bathroom and shoving her inside. She faced him with her hands on her hips.

"Aren't you a little too excited for being the only one that didn't pass the final?" Reiko asked, feeling that something was up.

"Oh, I passed alright!" he exclaimed gleefully, bringing a hand up to his headband that gleamed nicely in the morning sun.

"You know what? I don't want to know." The girl sighed in exasperation as she shook her head and closed the door to get ready.

"Aw, come on!" Naruto whined.

Reiko ignored him as she stripped and hopped in the shower. She lathered her shampoo into her thick, shoulder length hair. She quickly washed her body, the sudsy poof sliding over her lean, muscular legs and arms and up her slim waist. She rinsed before shutting the water off and grabbing a towel from the rack on the wall, wrapping it around herself and stepping out of the tub.

Water dripped from her body as she wiped the fog from the mirror with her hand. Bright, blue-green eyes stared back at her. She used to have more of a hazel eye color, but they had changed as she got older. She almost looked like a younger version of her mo –

She shook her head, ridding herself of such a thought. She sighed and opened the door, heading straight for her room at the end of the hall. She heard the boy she considered her brother fall to the floor, but she ignored it as she closed the door behind her.

Reiko took the towel off, drying herself as she opened her closet to pick out her clothes. She would wear the same thing she always did, having grown used to it. She wore a black, sleeveless top that was skin tight and the neck continued up into a mask that covered her face to the bridge of her nose. She wore a black skirt, slit on both sides for easy maneuverability with her legs completely wrapped down to her black sandals. Her holster, also black, was strapped to her left thigh, and her pouch was slung across the back of her right hip. Her arms were completely covered in bandages just like her legs, with black fingerless gloves with metal guards on the backs with the village symbol engraved on them. She ran a brush through her hair, letting it fall free and frame her face, usually letting it hide her face from view since she didn't like attention on herself.

She finally tied her headband across her forehead, acknowledging that today was her first day as a real ninja, and she would die fighting for Konoha. It was the village that took in an orphan like her, so she would repay her debt with the life they saved – her own.

"Are you ready yet?" Naruto whined from what she assumed was the kitchen. "I'm starving here!"

She shook her head at the boy's hopelessness. She usually made the meals, since Naruto couldn't cook one bit and she liked to have something other than instant ramen.

"Make something for yourself!" Reiko called as she hopped onto her window sill. "I'm heading out. I'll see you at the Academy."

"Wait!" Naruto called, but she was gone when he got to her room, her curtains blowing in the never ending breeze that graced the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He grumbled to himself as he stomped out of her room, wondering what he was going to be able to scrounge up from their meager supplies in the fridge.

Reiko leapt from rooftop to rooftop, making her way to the Yamanaka flower shop. She landed on the ground, surprising some of the villagers that were running errands. She gave them an apologetic smile, if they could discern that from behind the mask, and gave an awkward wave as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, something she picked up from living with Naruto.

She bowed her head in embarrassment as she entered the shop, smiling slightly as the wave of fragrance hit her sensitive nose. She scanned the flowers out for sale as she made her way to the front desk, finding her classmate Ino Yamanaka wearing an apron. Apparently, her parents wanted to put her to work as much as they could before she started her life as a shinobi.

"Hey," Ino greeted with a half-smile. Reiko wouldn't exactly call them friends, but they weren't on bad terms either. Reiko was the only girl, besides Hinata, who wasn't fawning over Sasuke Uchiha. "What can I help you with?"

"Just the usual," Reiko replied simply, eyes squinted as she smiled.

Ino nodded as she came around the desk and picked out a bouquet of flowers. She grabbed a few red poppies, added a couple yellow tulips, and surrounded them with blue forget-me-nots before wrapping them up.

"See you later," Ino said as Reiko left the shop after she paid the certain amount of ryo.

Reiko nodded and waved a hand at her as she walked down the road. She looked up at the sky and found that she would have to hurry if she didn't want to be late. She focused chakra in her feet and leapt onto the roof, once again startling the civilians near her.

She ran over the buildings, flying over the gaps and quickly made it to her destination. She hopped down from the trees, having to switch to those when she got to the training grounds, and landed on the grass in front of the memorial stone.

She stared at the polished chuck of granite, scanning over the names of fallen comrades she didn't know. More than likely they died before she even arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village, but she still felt that she should pay her respects. If not for them, the village may not have even made it this long, and therefore wouldn't have been able to take her in. They are just as much to thank for her life as the ones alive.

Every time she accomplished something, whether it was a new jutsu or passing a test, she would come to pay her respects. She wouldn't have had the opportunity to do anything if it wasn't for their sacrifice.

She noticed that the stone was a little dirty, the foundation covered in dirt and leaves, probably from the storm the other day. She held her hands in the tiger seal and a chakra controlled wind swept the area clean. She smiled as she placed her new flowers in front of the stone. She picked up the old ones and focused as they burst into flame. She watched as the ashes blew away in the wind with a sad smile before she sprinted to the Academy.

It was time to meet her new team.

She made it to the entrance at the same time as Shikamaru Nara.

"Hey," the lazy boy grunted, hands shoved in his pockets as usual.

"Hey," Reiko responded, falling into step beside him. "I wonder who we'll be paired with."

"I just hope it's not anyone troublesome," the boy grumbled.

"Everything is troublesome to you," Reiko sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I resent that," he said, glancing at her. He shook his head and muttered. "Troublesome."

Reiko chuckled as they reached the classroom and the two entered.

Shikamaru headed towards a seat closer to the front, passing by a familiar blonde.

"Huh?" he said as he recognized him. "What are you doing here, Naruto? This isn't for dropouts. You can't be here unless you graduate."

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto said, sitting up and putting a thumb to his headband. "Do you see this? Do you see this? Open your eyes, Shikamaru. It's a regulation headband." He smiled up at the skeptical boy. "We're going to be training together. How do you like that?"

Shikamaru sent a questioning look towards Reiko, who only shrugged and shook her head. She tuned out the hyperactive blond as she sat in the back corner of the room. She stared out the window as the rest of the students filed in. Reiko soon heard what sounded like a stampede coming down the hallways and spared a glance at the door, only to find it was Sakura Haruno and Ino up to their usual rivalry antics.

She sighed and turned back to look out the window when she caught sight of Naruto blushing as he stared at Sakura, his longtime crush. Sakura looked around the room, no doubt trying to find her own longtime crush. She smiled when she found Sasuke, sitting on the other side of the desk from Naruto, and the poor boy got his hopes up that the kunoichi was smiling at him. His dreams were trampled when Sakura shoved him out of the way to get to Sasuke.

"Uh, good morning, Sasuke," the girl said nervously, clasping her hands together in front of her. The boy only looked at her from the corner of his eyes, saying nothing. Sakura gathered her courage. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Back off, Forehead," Ino glared, grabbing the other's arm. "I'm sitting next to Sasuke."

"I was here first," Sakura growled.

Soon, it became a free for all. Multiple girls standing up and crowding around the two say they were, in fact, there first so they should sit next to the popular, moody boy. Reiko rolled her eyes at their shallowness. Sasuke himself turned back ahead of him and closed his eyes, apparently just as annoyed with the girls as she was.

The Hokage sat at his desk, an orb resting on a pillow before him, revealing the image of the Uchiha to the Jounin present in the room.

"The most promising new student, Sasuke Uchiha," one Jounin spoke, headband covering one of his eyes and light hair spiking up. His face was covered in a blue version of Reiko's mask. "Is that him?"

"Yes, he's the one," the Hokage answered.

"He's the only survivor left from the Uchiha clan," a red-eyed kunoichi said.

"That's right."

The view in the orb shifted to behind the Uchiha to focus on Reiko. She just shook her head at the girls and turned back to the window, resting her chin on her palm.

"And that's Reiko," the first shinobi said. "No family name?"

"Not that we know of. As you are aware, she only came into our custody six years ago. She was covered in blood and her clothes were singed. Her feet were bleeding from how long she had been running. We don't know much about her other than the fact that she's from the desert and she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go."

"I mean no disrespect, but why did you take her in?" a bearded, smoking man asked.

"She would have died if we left her out there," the Hokage sighed. "And I thought she would be able to help Naruto. He needed someone, and so did she."

The scene on the orb shifted once more, resting on the arguing girls and the blonde boy leaning against a desk.

"Naruto Uzumaki, huh?" the spiky-haired shinobi muttered to himself.

Reiko looked at Naruto when she heard his annoyed growl to find him crouching on the desk in front of Sasuke, their faces mere inches from each other.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "Hey, stop glaring at Sasuke!"

Naruto looked over at her, and the group of angry females behind her, before glaring once more at the brooding boy. Reiko could assume that he was wondering what all these girls saw in the Uchiha. It was something she herself thought about. Sure, he may be good looking and a skilled ninja, but there was more to a person than just that.

Reiko watched in mild amusement as Sasuke actually started glaring back at Naruto. He usually wore this expressionless mask and donned an indifferent façade, but she knew better. Unlike the group of girls that were now shouting at Naruto and warning Sasuke about getting too close to the blonde, she knew that Sasuke felt more emotions than he revealed.

"Naruto, you should probably - ," Reiko started to get up and forcibly remove the ill-mannered boy from the desktop, but froze and stared wide-eyed with the rest of the class when Naruto was pushed from behind and ended up locking lips with the Uchiha.

Both boys were wide-eyed as well, feeling more than a little disgusted and uncomfortable and enraged that something like that just happened. All was silent until Sakura wailed loudly. Naruto and Sasuke turned away from each other and held their throats, coughing and gagging as if that would do anything to change what just happened.

Reiko started laughing obnoxiously, pointing at the choking boys. She never in her wildest dreams thought something so hilarious and outrageous would happen in her life, let alone on her first day as a Genin!

"Oh my god!" Reiko wheezed, holding her stomach from laughing so hard. "I can't believe that just happened! Naruto and Sasuke just kissed!" The girl was laughing so hard that she didn't notice the girls beating up on her brother at first.

She eventually calmed herself down, still not being able to contain some giggles, and went to save her brother. She pushed her way through the group and caught Sakura's fist just as it was about to make another bruise on Naruto's face.

"Reiko!" Sakura snapped, yanking her hand back as if it was burned. "What do you want?"

"We're just giving him what he deserves for stealing Sasuke's first kiss!" Ino added, holding her own fist up angrily.

"Honestly, do you guys really think Naruto planned to do that?" Reiko asked in exasperation.

"I doesn't matter!" Sakura said stubbornly.

"Well, Naruto just lost his first kiss to the guy he hates and you're beating him up for it. Do you really think that's fair?"

"Well, no, but," Ino said, but Reiko held up her hand.

"What if I just started beating up on Sasuke for doing that to my brother?" Reiko asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"That's different!" a random girl shouted from the back.

"As if you could," Sasuke muttered, but Reiko had sensitive enough ears that she heard it. Normally, she would just ignore such a remark, but her dream last night had put her in a rather foul mood that she attempted, but failed to keep in check at that moment.

"What was that?" Reiko asked angrily, stomping up to the boy, fists clenched at her sides.

"I said you couldn't beat me," Sasuke stated calmly, though arrogance was laced under his tone, turning up his nose at her. "You're just as much of a loser as Naruto. It's a miracle you even passed with your skills."

Just as Reiko was about to pummel the pompous boy, Iruka Sensei walked in. She sent one last glare his way before stalking back to her seat, dragging Naruto with her by the back of his collar. He choked theatrically after she threw him in his seat with surprising strength that no one in class really noticed, which was just fine with her.

"As of today, you are all ninja," Iruka Sensei said with his hands held behind his back. "To get here, you've faced difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now, you are only Genin, first level ninja. All the Genin will be grouped into three man squads. Each squad will be led by a Jounin, an elite ninja."

Naruto, Sakura, and Ino seemed to perk up at this reminder.

"Well, somebody's gotta be in Sasuke's group," Ino commented. "I wonder who."

"I don't know," Sakura said casually, turning a heated glare at the blonde behind her.

Reiko heard Sasuke grunt, no doubt assuming his teammates will slow him down. What an arrogant jerk. She knew Naruto would want to be on a team with Sakura of course, and he would hate to be grouped with Sasuke. Personally, Reiko would only mind if she was put with a fawning fan girl, leaving Hinata as the only kunoichi she would want to work with, but it would be awesome if she was teamed up with Naruto. They worked well together.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities, so that's how we set them up," Iruka explained, bring up the stack of papers he held in his hands. "Also, since we have one extra Genin this year, there will be one, four man squad. I will now announce the squads."

Reiko vaguely paid attention, only really focusing when she heard a familiar name.

"Squad Seven," Iruka announced. "Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde perked up, eagerly awaiting to hear who else was on his team. "Sakura Haruno." Naruto stood excited, raising his hands in the air was if he won the lottery while Sakura hung her head in disappointed defeat. "Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto now hung his head while Sakura rejoiced her own luck, despite having Naruto being on her team. "And Reiko." Reiko and Naruto shared smiles, high-fiving each other. Sakura didn't seem too bothered by it, seeing as she and Reiko weren't on bad terms. Sasuke only glanced at each member of his team before closing his eyes with a sigh. Reiko only rolled her eyes at the boy while Naruto childishly made a face at him.

"Next, Squad Eight," Iruka sensei continued, ignoring their theatrics. "Hinata Hyuuga. Kiba Inuzuka. Shino Aburame."

"I don't get it," Shikamaru commented about Sasuke after Ino and Sakura had a brief exchange. "He's not that special."

"You are so beyond clueless, Shikamaru," Ino replied with a glare. "Don't you get it?"

"No, I don't get it, 'cause I'm not a girl."

"You are so full of yourself," Ino sighed. "Jealousy's a terrible thing. I'd hate to be on your squad."

"Now, Squad Ten," Iruka said. "Ino Yamanaka. Shikamaru Nara."

"Ha!" Shikamaru said. "Did you say something about hating to be on my squad?" Ino only growled at him.

"And Choji Akimichi," Iruka Sensei finished. "Those are all the squads."

"Iruka Sensei!" Naruto called and pointed at Sasuke. "Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group as a slug like Sasuke?"

"Ugh, Naruto," Reiko sighed, resting her head in her hands.

"Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating students," Iruka explained. "Naruto, you had the worst scores." The class laughed. "To create a balanced group, we put the best student with the worst student. In this case, we put the two worst students with the best student." Iruka glanced at Reiko, sending another bout of laughter through the room. Reiko only rolled her eyes.

"Just make sure you don't get in my way," Sasuke said quietly. "Loser."

"Hey, what did you say?" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Hard of hearing?"

"Knock it off, Naruto," Sakura scolded as Reiko dropped her head on the desk with a resounding 'thump'. Their team was going to be a mess. She just knew it. "Sit down!"

Iruka cleared his throat to get their attention, the class still giggling. "After lunch, you will meet your new Jounin teachers. Until then, class dismissed."

Reiko stood with the rest of the class, planning to head home for a quick bite and turned to ask Naruto if he wanted to join when she saw he had already disappeared, along with the rest of the group. She sighed, shook her head, and headed home.

She was going up the steps to the floor where her and Naruto's apartment was located when she felt an unfamiliar chakra signature. She tensed up until she sensed the Hokage there was well. If the Hokage was there, then the other person must be a comrade. Despite it being her apartment, she wasn't sure if she should just waltz on in. The two may be having a serious conversation.

"Lord Hokage," Reiko called, knocking on the door. "Is it okay if I come in?"

"Of course," the Hokage replied.

"Thanks," she said, bowing her head slightly in respect as she entered.

She raised her head to see a masked Jounin standing by the window as the Hokage stood by the kitchen table. She scrunched her nose when she realized Naruto had left his mess everywhere, no doubt assuming Reiko would clean it up later.

"Can I get you anything, Lord Hokage?" Reiko asked politely as she started cleaning up his mess, putting his dirty dishes in the sink and starting to clean them.

"No, thank you, my dear," he replied, smoking his pipe.

"So, this is where Naruto lives," the strange ninja commented, ignoring the girl's entrance as he glanced around the room.

"Yes, and he'll be on your team," the Hokage said. "Along with Sakura, Reiko, and Sasuke from the Uchiha clan. Good luck. You'll need it."

"Oh, come on, Lord Hokage," Reiko chided nonchalantly, turning to lean against the counter as she dried the dishes. "I'm not all that bad." She grinned as the old man chuckled.

She put the dishes away in the cupboard and threw the towel on the counter. She'd take care of that later. She turned back to find her new Jounin sensei picking up the open milk carton Naruto left on the table.

"Naruto," Reiko groaned, running a hand over her face. She should have just stayed home and made sure he picked up after himself. She walked over and held out her hand. "I'll get that, sensei." He focused his lazy gaze on her face, then her hand, and then turned back to the milk carton.

"This milk is way past its expiration date," he said. He shook the carton experimentally a few times as Reiko covered her face in embarrassment. _Way to go, Naruto_. "One sip of this and he'll be running to the bathroom all day. Seems like this kid is just one big problem."

"That idiot!" Reiko yelled, grasping her head in frustration.

The Jounin looked at her in surprise, glancing at his Hokage, who only looked upon the scene calmly despite the girl looking like she was going to explode. She growled to herself before taking a deep breath to relax. She stalked up to the Jounin, snatched the carton from his hand and promptly threw it into the garbage.

The shinobi raised a brow as she stomped around the house, grumbling to herself as she finished cleaning up the blonde's mess. She huffed when she finished, grabbed a protein bar from the pantry, slamming the wood hard enough to break it off its hinges, and left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

"Well, she's interesting," the Jounin remarked nonchalantly as the Hokage simply shook his head.

She devoured the food in seconds, tossing the trash in a dumpster as she neared the Academy. She regretted her behavior earlier, knowing her sensei probably thought she was a lunatic and an idiot. She shook her head, now frustrated more with herself than Naruto. Sure, he was hopeless, but that's why she was there. She was the only one who could take care of him. Well, she was the only one that would.

She walked down the hallway towards the classroom, her ears perking up when she heard Naruto's loud laughter echoing.

"I got him!" she heard Naruto laugh mockingly as she turned the corner to see their sensei standing in the doorway, his hair slightly chalky. "He totally fell for it!"

Reiko felt her temper flare again, mentally noting that she needed to meditate later, as she stalked down the hallways and maneuvered her way by the Jounin to glare at Naruto, who immediately shut up once he saw her expression. He knew when he was in trouble with the usually patient girl, and boy, he was screwed this time.

"Naruto! What do you think you're doing?" Reiko yelled as she lunged at him, tackling her brother to the ground. She straddled him, grabbing his coat and shaking him relentlessly and she screamed at the poor boy that hung lifelessly in her hands.

"I'm sorry sensei," Sakura said. "I told him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen!"

The man took in the sight of the masked girl railing into the blonde boy, the weak looking kunoichi, and the stoic Uchiha. What had the Hokage gotten him into?

He bent over and picked up the eraser.

"Hmm, how can I put this," he said, grabbing his chin in his hand. His voice drew the attention of Reiko and brought Naruto back to life as they stared intensely at him. "My first impression of this group… you're a bunch of idiots."

The all slumped their shoulders, eyebrows twitching, even the brooding Uchiha.

"Let's move to a more, appropriate place for some introductions," the Jounin said before he left the Genin staring after him.

Naruto and the girls blinked, so Sasuke made the first move to get up and follow their team leader. Sakura raced after him, telling him to wait up. Reiko simply stood up, dragging Naruto up as well and putting him on his feet. Naruto smiled at his sister, thinking the worst was over, but she simply punched him in the back of the head before following the other half of her team, Naruto whining as he trailed behind.

The Jounin, whose name they still didn't know, leaned up against a railing as the Genin sat on the steps in front of him.

"Alright," he said. "Why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time?"

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked in confusion. "Well, what are we supposed to say?"

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies," he listed with a shrug. "Things like that."

"Why don't you tell us stuff first," Naruto said from his place to the left of Reiko. "I mean, before we talk, tell us about you so we can see how it's supposed to work."

The masked girl nodded in agreement. She hadn't even seen this Jounin before she came home to find him in her apartment with the Hokage. Their sensei could be anyone, and she wanted to know more about the man that was going to be an integral part of their life as a shinobi.

"Me?" the man asked in an almost innocent way, pointing to himself. "I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… hmm, I don't feel like telling you that."

"Huh?" Naruto and Sakura sounded as they looked at their teacher with surprise. Reiko simply narrowed her eyes at his blasé statement. How was she supposed to trust a guy that wouldn't even tell his students his likes and dislikes?

"My dreams for the future," Kakashi hummed to himself, looking into the distance behind the students. "Never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies."

"That was totally useless," Sakura muttered to Naruto. "All he really told us was his name." Naruto hummed in agreement.

"Okay, now it's your turn. You, on the right. You first."

"I'm Reiko, as you all know," the girl started with a tired sigh. "Things I like… well, I like birds. I don't particularly like shallow or weak girls, but I have no problem if they work hard. A hobby of mine is stargazing. I guess my dream for the future is to become a strong kunoichi and… be able to see an old friend of mine." Reiko hesitated before trailing off off, eyes glazed as she became lost in her thoughts and memories.

"Okay," Kakashi said slowly, raising a brow at the now oblivious girl. There was something about her that made him curious, but he pushed it aside. He doubted they would even be worth his time, seeing as no one ever passed his survival test. He had enough to worry about with Naruto and Sasuke, let alone deal with a random kid the Hokage brought into the village. "Next, you, in the orange."

"Believe it," Naruto said, his signature phrase, as he adjusted his headband with his hand. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka Sensei got me at the Ichiraku Noddle Shop and the food Reiko makes me. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then, the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody – somebody important!"

"Alright, next," Kakashi said after a moment.

Reiko shook her head and focused back in on the introductions. She assumed she just missed Naruto's, but she already knew that troublemaker enough.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," the pink-haired girl said with a smile. "What I like, uh, I mean the person I like is…" she held her hands in her chin as she glanced at Sasuke with a blush across her cheeks. "Uh, my hobby is, uh…" She giggled to herself as she continued looking at the Uchiha before shaking her head with that infatuated smile still plastered on her face. "My dream for the future is," she squealed, pushing her face into her hands as her face darkened further.

Reiko rolled her eyes, slapping a hand to her face at the girl's idiocy and shallow personality.

"And?" Kakashi asked. "What do you hate?"

"Naruto!" she yelled, coming out of her daydream with a glare.

Reiko saw the poor boy with overdramatic tears running down his face as he made a noise between a groan, a whine, and a cry. She lightly smacked him upside the head to bring him back to his senses. She wasn't going to let him embarrass either of them further in front of Kakashi Sensei.

"Last one."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," the boy said in a low, almost dark voice. "I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything."

"What a shocker," Reiko muttered under her breath as Sakura looked shocked and disappointed at his not-so-surprising revelation.

"What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone."

Everyone sat in silence, openly staring at his cold proclamation.

"Well," Reiko said, breaking the silence that was getting a smidge too uncomfortable for her liking. "I'm sure Sakura would love to help you restore your clan."

"Reiko!" the girl shrieked, her face beet red as she jumped to her feet.

The tension was broken.

"Good," Kakashi said, interrupting what would have likely turned into a cat fight. "You're each unique and have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked, eyes shining with excitement.

"It's a task that the five of us will do together."

"What, what, what, what?" Naruto badgered.

"Calm down, Naruto," Reiko said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"A survival exercise," Kakashi said.

"Huh? Survival exercise?" Naruto questioned.

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission," Sakura complained, a rarity for a girl so much like a teacher's pet. "Not more practice. We already did this stuff at the Academy. That's why we're all here."

"This is not like your previous training," the Jounin explained.

"What kind of training is it exactly?" Reiko asked, eyes narrowing in thought, and turning into a glare as the man started chuckling to himself.

"Hey, hold on," Sakura said. "That's a normal question. So, how is it funny?"

"Well," he said, eyes crinkled in a smile as he waved his hand at them dismissively. "If I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it."

"Huh?" Naruto grunted in confusion.

"Of the twenty seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin… well, if you all pass, then I suppose that may be ten. I'm not quite sure. Either way, the other students will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this test is a make it or break it, pass-fail test. And the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty-six percent."

Sasuke didn't react to this news. Reiko glared at the Jounin that seemed to be having too much fun toying with them. Naruto's mouth dropped at the news that despite finally passing, he may be sent back to the Academy anyway. Sakura just looked like she should have expected something so ridiculous to happen.

"That's crazy!" Naruto shouted. "We worked hard to get here. Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?"

"Oh, that? That was just to select candidates that might be Genin… or not."

"What!?" Naruto lunged forward, but Reiko grabbed the back of his jacket and effortlessly held the boy back from getting his ass handed to him by their sensei.

"That's how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five in the morning and bring your ninja gear."

Reiko released her hold on Naruto as he slumped back and took this information in with the rest of them. Her fists clenched tightly as she thought about her own chance. She had held back in the Academy, not wanting people to see how good she actually was. Plus, her chakra affinity was different than the rest of the village, being from a foreign land herself, and that would have surely brought attention to herself. She never had a use for using her own ninjutsu, limited to only the ones they taught in the Academy. She may actually have to use her ninjutsu in this survival test if she wanted to truly become a Genin. She may not like it, but she would have to deal with the resulting attention she'd bring upon herself if she did.

"That's it, you're dismissed," Kakashi waved, turning back for one last comment. "Oh, tomorrow, you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke." He left them with that as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The team sat there in shock, staring at the place their sensei just was. Sasuke was the first to move, standing up silently and walking away with his hands shoved in his pockets. Sakura followed soon after, not wanting to be too far away from the boy, leaving the adopted siblings on their own.

Reiko stood, reaching into her pouch for her coin purse and dropping it in the blonde's lap. "Here," she said. "I'm gonna be out most of the night. Treat yourself to some Ichiraku. Get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, but when he turned, she was gone. He scratched the back of his head in confusion. He would never understand how she did that. He face brightened as he grabbed the coin pouch and jumped to his feet. "Reiko's the best!"

The night was quiet as the normally rambunctious kids slept in preparation for their tests to become true Genin the next day. Reiko was the only one awake, sprinting around the training ground as she threw her kunai and shuriken at multiple targets. She flipped backwards, letting a loose a volley of senbon at a log, all but one hitting its mark.

She growled in frustration when she landed, stalking around the field to retrieve her weapons before slumping against a tree. She hung her head and sighed before looking up at the moon, surrounded by millions of stars.

She never had this kind of view back in her home village. There were never stars really, only the moon. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, knocking it against the rough bark and leaving it there.

Back home, if she was still with her clan and that night never happened, she would have had her own partner by now. In her family, it was tradition that when a child passed their graduation test to become Genin, they would receive their own animal partner. She supposed it was similar to how the Inuzuka's had their ninja dogs for partners. However, her family used birds, specifically predatory birds that thrive in their home environment, the desert.

The Inuzuka's had a special bond with their partners through training and learning commands. What was different about her own clan was that they had their clan guardian to thank. Their clan guardian was a Phoenix, a legendary creature that was made of chakra similar to the tailed beasts, but not quite.

The legend was vague, but simply said that the founders of their clan, a female shinobi with an affinity for fire and a male shinobi with an affinity for wind, saved the creature's life. In return, being such a noble creature, it vowed to protect their clan. In addition, the entity bestowed upon the clan the ability to communicate with avian creatures in a way not unlike telepathy.

She may be separated from her clan, even hated, but her chest always hurt when she thought about what could have been. She would have grown up with her siblings, arguing all the time, but loving each other nonetheless. Her father would still be alive. She would still be able to see –

 _You don't need them_ , a voice echoed in her mind. She would have been shocked, surprised, even scared, but she knew all too well who it was.

 _Where have you been, Hakuoh?_ She asked.

 _I'm sealed inside you. I can't go anywhere, whether either of us likes it or not._ He snapped in annoyance.

 _Okay, then why have you been so quiet lately?_ Hakuoh usually was very talkative, and usually distracted her from what was going on in her surroundings.

 _I've been sleeping. The only good thing about being stuck here is that I can sleep however much I want and not have to worry about enemies._

 _So, I'm just your locked up bedroom?_

 _Pretty much._

 _Screw you._

 _Now, that's not very nice. And after all that trouble I went through to get you your present._

 _What are you talking about?_ Reiko sat up straighter. What was this senile old bird talking about? Sure, they had a symbiotic relationship, but that was also simply due to necessity.

 _Well, I'm aware of your clan's traditions, and you did graduate from the Academy._

 _So? What does that have to do with anything?_

 _My, you're in a bad mood today._

 _Get to the point, Hakuoh._ She was growing tired of his theatric and overdramatic ways. That was something she did not miss one bit from his absence.

 _Fine,_ he sighed. _You never let me have any fun._

She heard the cry of a bird and her head shot up to look in the sky. Despite the darkness, she could just barely make out the black figure flying under the stars before swooping down. She yelped in surprise as the large bird landed in front of her.

The creature squawked and started preening his feathers as Reiko stared at the bird in amazement. The feathers were dark with a couple spots of white on its back and its neck was a mix of golden hues. The predator stood over half a meter tall, possibly even a meter from beak to tail. She guessed its wingspan to be at least two meters.

 _W-what is this?_ She gaped at the beautiful raptor in front of her. She'd never recalled seeing such a large bird in the falconry within the clan compound, or one so beautiful.

 _His name is Kei. He's agreed to be your partner._ When she stay silent and continued to stare in awe, he continued. _I know how important something like this is to you. It wasn't your fault that I was sealed inside of you. Though, it was my fault for killing all of those people during that incident, including your father. He may have been a cruel man, but for some reason I cannot fathom, you still loved him._

 _I-I don't know what to say. This is – Why would –_

 _This is the least I could do._ He interjected, stopping her before she could babble nonsense. _I can never atone for killing your father and members of your clan, and I haven't made it easy for you. At least, this way, you can still be connected to your clan._

Reiko felt tears flow down her cheeks, something that hasn't happened for a while. She never liked to think about that night, where she ran away from her clan after finding her father's decapitated head on the floor of a burning room with other bodies scattered about. At first, she blamed the creature for doing something so barbaric to her family, and he blamed her as well for being sealed within her, but they had come to understand each other over the years. Hakuoh punished the power hungry members of her clan for doing something so dishonorable, and it wasn't truly her fault for being his container. She was just as much of a victim as he was, especially after he massacred those who performed the ceremony.

 _Thank you,_ she thought to him. _I can't put into words how much this means to me._

 _Don't get all soft on me!_ He snapped in annoyance, trying to cover up his own happiness that she appreciated the gift and the fact that her emotional state was making him feel uncomfortable.

 _Haha,_ she chuckled. _I may not say this enough, but I'm glad you're here._

Hakuoh huffed before receding to the back of her mind, letting her get acquainted with her new partner, Kei.

 **PLEASE REVIEW! I get more motivated when I get reviews and that means chapters will be posted much faster! And thank you to my first reviewer!**


	3. Survival Test

**Hello again! I forgot to say that I want at least one review before I post another chapter! So, this one's a freebie, but from now on I want at least one review before I give you more! I would love to hear your reactions, thoughts, suggestions, anything! For now, enjoy!**

At five in the morning, three Academy graduates arrived at the specified location for their survival test. Naruto reluctantly held off on eating that morning, and was still depressed over it. Sakura, having been used to dieting, didn't mind too much about skipping, though she had also skipped dinner the night before, which wasn't very smart. Sasuke didn't show that he even cared that he was told not to eat, but did as instructed.

"Morning," Sakura yawned, rubbing an eye tiredly.

Naruto made indistinguishable noises that was supposed to be a greeting as he stumbled forward with a hand outstretched, as if he was still asleep to begin with. Sasuke said nothing as the trio met in the middle of the training field, not looking tired in the slightest.

A couple hours passed as the sun finally cast its radiance over the village.

"Where's Reiko?" Sakura asked, face scrunched in annoyance. While their sensei wasn't there yet, he was the teacher. Reiko was only the student and should have been there by now, if not at the scheduled time! Just who did she think she was?

"Huh?" Naruto groaned, almost falling back asleep, but fighting to stay conscious. He rubbed his eyes before he blinked rapidly, finally starting to wake up when he realized his sister was indeed not present. "Hey, yeah, where is she?"

"Shouldn't you know that?" Sasuke asked, glancing at the blonde from the corner of his eyes. He sighed. "Loser."

"Shut up!" Naruto snapped with a glare. "Well, after meeting Kakashi Sensei, she just gave me her coin pouch and left. She said she'd be out all night, but she'd see me in the morning." He grabbed his chin as he looked up in thought. "I don't even think she came home last night."

"What?" Sakura asked, concerned. "Do you think something happened to her?"

"Nah," Naruto waved dismissively. "She's tougher than you think. She probably just slept in since she didn't have her alarm clock."

"Well, if you say so," Sakura trailed off, dropping the subject. She doubted the blonde's faith in the girl. She was just as much of a drop out as Naruto was. The only thing that looked tough about her was the way she dressed, in Sakura's opinion.

A couple more hours passed until Kakashi Sensei finally strolled up to the group casually, as if he hadn't come to the field four hours late.

"Good morning, everyone," Kakashi greeted. "Ready for your first day?"

"Hey, you're late!" Naruto and Sakura shouted at the Jounin.

"Well a black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way," he explained with a grin, as if that was an acceptable excuse in the least. Sakura and Naruto stewed angrily. "Besides, I don't happen to see Reiko anywhere."

Just as Naruto was about to reply, a loud bird called from a nearby tree, catching everyone's attention as they looked in the general direction of the strange noise. A surprised cry came from the same direction before a body fell out of the tree.

"Oof!" Reiko gasped as the air rushed out of her when she landed hard on her back. "Kei, you jerk!" she shouted, glaring up into the trees, causing confusion among the others. A large bird suddenly flew from the tree and landed on top of her.

"Get off me!" she yelled in annoyance, swatting an arm at the bird. It squawked and flapped its wings, landing on the ground to her side. She turned towards the group, rubbing her head from when she fell, but froze when she saw her team staring at her with wide eyes. She blinked owlishly before jumping to her feet and brushing nonexistent dirt off of her clothes. She gave them a nervous smile and chuckled, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry, I guess I slept in?"

"What the heck is that?" Sakura cried, stepping back from the large, strange bird that was almost half her size, even more so compared to the shorter Reiko.

"Woah! Can I touch it?" Naruto asked, eyes shining in excitement.

"Uh, well, this is Kei, and he's my new partner," she said, looking away in embarrassment. They probably thought she was insane for taking on a strange bird as her partner just as she graduated. She never had any experience with an animal partner like the Inuzuka's, and they didn't know about her clan either. The bird squawked a greeting, looking at each of shinobi there.

"Well," Kakashi said, clearing his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "Let's get started." The Jounin walked over to a tree stump and put an alarm clock from his pack on it. "Here we go. It's set for noon." He pressed the button on top. He reached into his pouch and withdrew three bells, jingling them. "Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch. You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."

Naruto moaned in dismay while Sakura held her stomach with a frown. Sasuke just looked rather let down, expecting something more impactful for the reason they couldn't eat a breakfast.

"Wait, there's only three bells," Reiko pointed out. "What's up with that?"

"Well, that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the Academy. Then again, all four of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapon including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

"Those weapons are too dangerous, Sensei!" Sakura said.

"Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser," Naruto laughed.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest link," Kakashi countered, trying to goad him on. "You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores. Losers." Naruto grunted and glared at the man, his anger growing.

"He's a Jounin for a reason," Reiko said, stretching her arms over her head as she prepared her body. Kei squawked in agreement.

"When I say start, you may begin."

"Raaah!" Naruto shouted as charged the Jounin recklessly with a kunai in hand.

"Naruto!" Reiko warned, stepping forward to help him as she reached for her own weapons.

The blonde didn't get very far. Faster than the eye could see, Kakashi was behind Naruto, twisting the boy's arm behind his back and pointing his own kunai to the back of his neck as the man held his head in place.

"Don't be in such a hurry," their sensei said calmly. "I didn't say start yet."

Naruto groaned in pain as he tried to pull his arm free, but the man's grip was like iron. Reiko took a few steps forward, jerking her head up. Kei obeyed his partner's command, crying out loudly and soaring high into the sky. Sasuke and Sakura backed away from the blonde before Kakashi released him.

"But," the Jounin said. "You came at me with the full intention of destroying me." He chuckled. "So, how can I say this? I'm actually starting to like you guys."

Reiko stepped up beside the rest of her team, knees bent in anticipation.

"Get ready," Kakashi said. "And, start!"

The four preteens leapt into action, disappearing in a flash to hide within the surrounding foliage. Kakashi scanned the area with his eye before continuing.

"Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively."

Sasuke hid within a tree on a low branch, peeking between the leaves to keep the Jounin in sight. Sakura was sprawled out under a bush, though it wasn't the best position for a quick reaction. Reiko hide in a tree as well, but on one of the higher branches, getting a complete view of the field. However, Naruto apparently decided he was too good for hiding.

"Huh?" Kakashi hummed in disbelief as he saw the whiskered boy standing boldly in the middle of the field with his arms crossed and a confident smirk across his face.

"You and me!" Naruto shouted. "Right now, fair and square! Let's go!"

Reiko dropped her head in her hands hopelessly. If she wasn't hiding, she would have hit him upside the head. Kakashi tilted his head to the side as he observed the scene with an expression similar to Reiko's.

"You know," he said. "Compared to the others, you're a little bit… weird."

"Oh yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut!"

Naruto shouted as he charged the Jounin once more, as if this time would yield different results. The boy slid to a halt, jumping back slightly to put some distance between him and the Jounin.

Reiko held her arm out, muscles tense, as she watched Kakashi reach into his pouch. Kei landed silently on her outstretched arm, the limb swaying slightly under the weight. His talons curled around her thin forearm, but he was careful not to puncture her skin.

"Shinobi battle techniques, part one," the man stated. "Taijutsu: the physical art."

Reiko shuffled her feet, anxiously waiting to see what their teacher would do. He said taijutsu, but he was reaching for a weapon!

 _Get ready_ , Reiko said to Kei. The bird briefly squeezed her arm in response. If she needed to, she would come to her brother's aid. She almost fell off the branch when he pulled out a book, eyebrow twitching in a mix of anger and annoyance.

"What the?" Naruto said, raising his own brow over eyes wide in disbelief.

"What are you waiting for?" Kakashi asked in a bored tone as he started reading his book. "Make your move."

"But – I mean – Why are you reading that book?"

"Why?" the man asked, not even sparing the boy a glance. "To find out what happens in the story, of course. Don't let it bother you. With your weak attacks, it doesn't really matter if I'm reading, or, whatever."

Naruto made a noise of anger and annoyance as his fists clenched. How dare that man underestimate him!

"I'm going to crush you!"

Naruto charged forward with a battle cry, leaping into the air and threw a fist at the man. The Jounin barely moved, only lifting a hand to block the attack while he continued to read. Naruto landed on his feet, but quickly launched another attack. Kakashi ducked below the spinning kick, still reading his book while he crouched.

"Now, you're mine!" Naruto attacked once again, his feet barely touching the ground before he was in the air once more. He threw a solid punch, but Kakashi vanished before it could hit him.

Reiko gaped at the Jounin below, or at least where he just was. She knew they wouldn't be able to compare to a Jounin, but their levels were so vastly different that it left her head spinning. They weren't even officially Genin yet! How could they hope to overcome such a strong opponent?

Kakashi reappeared behind the blonde, still in his stance from his punch as he stared blankly where his target just was.

"Huh?" the blonde grunted in confusion.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time," the man chided as he crouched behind his prey. His book was sandwiched between his palms, his hands forming the tiger hand sign.

Reiko jerked her head to the side and Kei silently took off, not wanting to give away his partner's position. Kakashi's hand sign was common for fire style jutsus, and though she was sure he wouldn't do anything to permanently harm them, she would never let her brother get hurt if she could stop it.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, giving away her position. "Get out of there, quick! He's going to destroy you!"

Reiko would have rolled her eyes at the dramatic exclamation, but her eyes were fixed on her sensei, monitoring his chakra levels. She couldn't sense any spikes that would indicate a jutsu. Her brows furrowed.

"Too late," Kakashi said as Naruto dumbly looked over at his crush. "Leaf Village, Secret Finger Jutsu! A Thousand Years of Death!"

Reiko had to grab the trunk of the tree to prevent herself from falling. Her sensei, someone Genin should look up to, just stuck his fingers up Naruto's ass hard enough to send the boy flying through the air and splashing into the water nearby.

"Those two are just idiots," Sasuke grumbled to himself, eyes closed as if the situation would be less humiliating if he pretended it never happened.

"Okay, where was I?" Kakashi said, acting as if he didn't just do something so outrageous.

Reiko spared a glance at the water, bubbles forming on the surface where Naruto landed. She bit her lip in thought. Sure, she liked being on the upper ground. It gave her an advantage over her opponent, but from what Kakashi has shown, she would need to get up close and personal to get one of those bells. She considered sending Kei in to try to swipe one, but he would be too visible. It'd be an obvious move.

She silently started descending from the tree as she had Kei circle above Kakashi, who merely glanced up in mild interest before returning to his book. While she dropped from branch to branch, she could only be amazed at Naruto's new jutsu. Shadow Clone Jutsu? When had he learned that forbidden technique? Was that how he passed his final exam? But, he couldn't even make an illusionary clone before! She decided to ask him about that later.

Reiko had almost made it to the ground, not bothering to mask her movements as much seeing as the multiple Naruto's starting fighting each other. Kakashi had used a substitution jutsu with one of Naruto's shadow clones. Reiko felt his chakra spike for the jutsu. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't so attune to such things so she doubted he even realized it. Her point was proven when he cancelled the jutsu only to find him by himself in the middle of the field. Reiko had to admit, it was a surprisingly thought out strategy for the hyperactive boy, even if it didn't work.

Naruto groaned when his sensei was nowhere in sight. Reiko was debating heading out to her brother, knowing her avian companion would warn her if Kakashi started moving, but the boy's attention was soon attracted to something shining underneath a tree. Reiko narrowed her eyes form her crouch behind the shrubbery as she made out the object – a single silver bell.

"A bell?" Naruto asked himself incredulously. An arrogant grin was quickly plastered on his face. "I must have got to him with my attack. He dropped a bell!" Naruto laughed lightly as he jogged over to his objective.

Before he could reach it, a simple trap tightened a rope around his ankles and he was swung into the air. Reiko ignored her brother's cries for a moment, signally Kei to swoop in and get the bell before Kakashi could retrieve it.

Kei let out a cry as he plummeted to the earth in a nosedive. He extended his wings as he grew closer, reaching his talons for the shiny prize. He squawked suddenly as a kunai was suddenly thrown at him, making him veer off course and rise up into the sky with a cry of anger. Reiko huffed in agitation at her failed plan, not expecting her sensei to throw weapons at his student's partner, but should have known better. It wasn't like he was going to go easy on them just because they were Genin.

"You didn't think you'd get a bell that easily, did you, Reiko?" Kakashi asked airily as he picked up the bell. He sighed as he looked at Naruto. "Think before you use a jutsu, or else your opponent might use it against you." Naruto moaned. "Oh, and also, if the bait is obvious, don't take it."

Naruto growled angry as he squirmed helplessly in the air. Kakashi only gave him a taunting smile as he tossed the bell up and caught it, the jingle teasing the Genin.

"A ninja must see through deception," Kakashi continued.

"I – get – it!" Naruto grunted.

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it?"

Reiko raised a brow at his rambling. It seemed as if his guard was down, but why, after all this time, would he let his guard down after Naruto was caught in his trap? It's not like Naruto was the most dangerous one there. If anything, as Kakashi said before, he was the most harmless.

Before anything else was said or done, shuriken and kunai were thrown at dangerous speeds from a few meters up in the tree next to the one Reiko was hiding behind. Her head shot up to find Sasuke crouched on a thick branch, body tense as he awaited the result of his attack. Reiko spun to Kakashi once more to find all the weapons hit their mark, knocking the Jounin off his feet as he fell to the ground. Kakashi grunted in pain as blood splattered. Reiko's eyes widened in shock. Did the Uchiha really just land a hit on their sensei?

"Ah!" Naruto shouted, his own eyes wide. "He just got blasted by shuriken! Are you out of your mind, Sasuke? You went too far!"

Reiko gasped as an explosion of smoke surrounded their falling sensei, only to reveal a log from his substitution jutsu. Reiko cursed and started sprinting across the ground. Sasuke was only a short distance away from her own hiding spot, and he just gave himself away. She wasn't going to risk getting caught herself.

She stopped as she realized Sasuke was going in the same direction as her, and she slid to a halt. She couldn't very well return to her original position without risking getting found by Kakashi, and she couldn't follow Sasuke either. If their sensei found one of them, he would find the other one right away as well.

She crouched down and closed her eyes, searching for chakra signatures. Naruto was still in the middle of the field, hanging from the tree. Sasuke was moving at a slower pace on the other side of the field, and Sakura was only meters away from Kakashi, both of them located in the forest.

Reiko opened her eyes and sighed as she casually strolled into the middle of the field, ignoring Sakura's screams as she neared her brother.

"A ninja must see through deception," Naruto mocked childishly. "Yeah, yeah, how am I supposed to do that?" he ground his teeth in agitation as he withdrew a kunai from his holster.

"Are you done hanging around?" Reiko teased, a hand on her hip as she watched Naruto struggled above her. She held out her arm and Kei landed lightly on it, fluffing his feathers.

"Shut up!" Naruto snapped, not appreciating the humor at the moment, even though Reiko constantly teased him in a sisterly way. He lifted himself up and cut the rope holding him up. "I'm not gonna fall for anymore of his traps!" He spun in the air before landing on the ground. He grinned at his sister. "I can take care of myself, believe it!"

"Really?" Reiko questioned with a brow raised as Naruto was slung up in a duplicate of the trap he was just in. She crossed her arms and giggled. Losing his perch, Kei squawked and hovered in the air above her.

"I fell for it again!" Naruto cried as he hung by one of his legs.

Reiko shook her head with a smile as Kei flapped his wings to land on the branch next to the rope ensnaring his partner's brother. He made a noise that sounded like a bird's version of a laugh.

"I'll leave Kei here," Reiko said as Naruto grumbled to himself angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. "He'll let you down when he thinks you've learned your lesson."

"Hey, wait!" Naruto shouted after the retreating Reiko. "What's that supposed to mean? Help me out! Reiko!"

The girl simply waved a hand over her shoulder before leaping into the trees and disappearing. Reiko concentrated and felt her other two teammates and Kakashi Sensei rather close to each other, and headed in that direction. Perhaps one of them could distract him long enough so that she could sneak in and snag a bell. Sakura's scream told the kunoichi that she would have to rely on Sasuke for that distraction. That fan girl really was useless, getting caught in the genjutsu so easily.

Reiko stopped on a branch that overlooked a smaller clearing, shuffling to hide behind the tree trunk. She saw Kakashi crouching in a smaller tree, eyes glued to the pages of his book.

"I think I overdid it a bit," Kakashi commented offhandedly. "But, she's gotta learn to see through these things."

Sasuke hadn't been far, only just beyond the other side of the clearing, when Sakura screamed. He had cautiously made his way in that direction, hoping to catch his sensei off guard. The Jounin disappeared from his perch in a swirl of leaves.

"Shinobi battle skill number two, the illusion jutsu," Kakashi said as he reappeared behind the Uchiha, bells jingling at his hip. The Jounin's nose was still in his book. "Sakura studied it in class, but she still couldn't see it coming."

"I'm not like Sakura and Naruto," Sasuke stated darkly after a pause.

"Say that after you get one of these bells," Kakashi said lazily as he leaned against the trunk of a tree. "My Sasuke," the man said mockingly with a chuckle.

Reiko thought it sounded like the man was smirking behind his mask as he pushed off the tree. He still held his book, something that was starting to annoy the masked girl in the tree, as he took a couple steps toward Sasuke, who turned to face him.

Reiko shifted so she was on the branch and no longer completely shielded from view by the tree. She tensed and narrowed her eyes as she concentrated on each move the two made. She would have to time her attack perfectly to be able to get a bell, and Sasuke was the only distraction she had. Whether he knew it or not, she was dependent on the boy so she could pass this test. She just hoped he could back up his words and pose a good enough challenge for their sensei.

It was a long minute of tense silence as the two stared each other down, the Jounin watching the boy carefully despite the novel in his hand. Reiko's hand clenched into a fist as she waited impatiently.

Sasuke suddenly reached into his pouch and threw a round of shuriken at Kakashi, who easily dodged to the side.

"There's no point in using normal attacks," the man said casually as he landed, sliding across the ground.

Sasuke only smirked and threw a kunai up with a grunt, completely missing the man, but cutting a rope neither Reiko nor the Jounin had noticed before.

 _Smart move_ , Reiko thought to herself, rather impressed. Sure, Sasuke was extremely smart, but he seemed too hotheaded sometimes and she didn't think he would have the patience to set a trap. He wasn't as bad as Naruto by any means, but the time limit was pressuring everyone.

Kakashi grunted as he dodged the volley of kunai that was launched at him, the weapons sinking into the bark of a tree. He slid back on the ground when he landed once more, and Sasuke was behind him in a flash, swinging a powerful kick. Kakashi easily blocked with the back of his hand, the other grabbing the boy's leg to catch him off guard. However, Sasuke seemed to expect that and quickly threw a punch at the man, not missing a beat, but the Jounin caught his fist. Sasuke then swung his other leg, but the man brought up the arm that incapacitated the boy's hand and blocked once more. Sasuke, now basically upside down and stuck, seemed to be in a pickle, but he only smirked triumphantly.

He reached with his free hand to the jingling bells, and Kakashi saw it almost too late. Sasuke's fingers brushed one of the bells, but their sensei quickly retreated, leaving Sasuke to land on the ground with a grunt and a scowl. The boy was panting with a vicious glare, having put a good amount of energy into his attempt as the two stared each other down once more.

"Well, you are different from the other two," Kakashi said as he straightened, the boy following his lead. "I'll grant you that."

Reiko's eyes widened as Sasuke flashed through hand signs, recognizing it as one of the fire jutsus she had in her own arsenal.

"What?" Kakashi said in disbelief, sounding as if he was shouting in his own way. "Genin can't do fire jutsu; it takes too much chakra! There's no way."

Sasuke loosely curled a hand in front of his mouth and blew, fire shooting towards their sensei. Reiko couldn't help but gasp at the giant fireball covering the space where the man just stood. She completely agreed that normal Genin couldn't do such a jutsu because of the amount of chakra it took, but Reiko herself had the Phoenix to give her chakra. Sasuke had nothing to feed him chakra, and that was enough to impress the girl. Maybe he wasn't just some pretty boy that was a one trick pony after all.

After half a minute, he cancelled the jutsu, and when the flames cleared his sensei was nowhere to be found. Sasuke frantically looked around him, and Reiko did the same. She hadn't even seen the man dodge! She closed her eyes and concentrated on sensing his chakra signature before her eyes shot open in surprise.

"Sasuke!" she yelled, leaping down from her spot and sprinting towards her teammate. "He's underneath you!"

"What?" Sasuke shouted in shocked confusion, looking down at the dirt with wide eyes, but not having enough time to move before Kakashi grabbed his ankle.

"Too late," Kakashi said. "Always check where you least expect the enemy." Sasuke yelled as the Jounin dragged him neck deep in the ground before popping up in front of him. "I was right under your feet. Earth Style: Head Hunter Jutsu." Sasuke grunted as he tried to free himself. "Can't move, huh? That was ninjutsu, the third shinobi battle skill. You have talent and you were right, you are different from others, but different isn't always better." Kakashi stood, looking down at the boy, but still aware of the girl that was charging him from behind. "They say the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down."

"What? Like your hair?" Reiko asked sarcastically as she leapt at her sensei, fist leading the way.

"So, you finally decided to stop hiding?" Kakashi asked as he easily sidestepped the attack, grabbing her forearm and throwing her to the opposite side of the field. "You may not be the worst student in the class, but being second from the bottom isn't much to brag about."

"So what?" Reiko spat, flipping in the air and landing solidly on the ground. "You read my file? Big deal. I'm much more than some stupid piece of paper."

She weaved a couple hand signs and breathed in deeply, holding it in as she performed another set of hand signs, rotating her hands in front of her, molding her chakra loosely, but nothing visible to the naked eye.

"Great," Sasuke grumbled to himself, thinking she was about to fail in her jutsu seeing as nothing was happening despite performing the seals, but Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he felt the chakra build up.

 _Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!_ She shouted mentally as she lifted a curled hand in front of her mouth, and held the other one palm up with her fingers clawed up slightly. She released her chakra imbued air and a powerful tunneled whirlwind devastated the ground in front of her as it neared her sensei.

 _Fire Style: Blazing Red Cannon!_ She finished, feeling her chakra deplete more than she originally thought as the loose ball of chakra in her other hand burst into flames and hurled it into the wind tunnel. Her hair blew back from the force of the combined jutsus that more than doubled the power as a spiraling tunnel of fire destroyed everything in its path.

Reiko slumped forward onto a knee, panting heavily. She knew wind and fire jutsus combined to make a more powerful attack, but this was the first time she ever tried it in battle. She didn't think it would drain her chakra so much, and she wasn't going to ask Hakuoh for more. This was her own battle to prove she was a strong, capable kunoichi.

She wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched the jutsu tear into the ground and turn quite a few trees into piles of ash before it finally dissipated. She was gasping, fighting to keep her drooping eyes open when she noticed her sensei was yet again nowhere to be seen.

She staggered to her feet as she searched for his chakra signature, thinking he would be in the ground once more, but finding no trace of him.

"That was quite the impressive show," Kakashi said, his voice right next to her ear.

She shrieked girlishly, much to her shame and embarrassment, and jumped. She spun to face him, tripping over her own feet in her exhaustion and falling on her backside, arms held back to support her slumping body. She stared at him with wide eyes, not even sensing him before he spoke to her.

"You may have a dismal school record, but you are much better in battle," Kakashi commented, agreeing with her earlier statement. "However, if you can't control your chakra properly, you'll find yourself in a situation where you can't even defend your teammates, and they'll die."

She huffed as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving her on the ground. She sighed in defeat, knowing he was right. Sure, she could always ask Hakuoh to help her, but she also wasn't the type of girl to rely on others. She always just had herself, not trusting anyone else, especially after the ceremony where Hakuoh was sealed inside of her. Even though Naruto was like her brother, she was still reluctant to fully trust him, though not for lack of trying.

She pushed herself to her feet, feeling Hakuoh feed a small amount of healing chakra into her system, despite her telling him not to, but was grateful nonetheless. She staggered over to where she sensed Sasuke, thinking she may have just enough chakra to release him from that jutsu thanks to the phoenix. Since her battle was over, she figured she'd let Hakuoh lend her some chakra to help her teammate, but only just enough to do that.

Just as she leaned against a tree when Sasuke came into view, Sakura came sprinting form the bushes. She froze mid-stride, staring at the Uchiha with wide eyes. Reiko watched, slightly amused, as Sakura seemed on the verge of fainting before steeling herself and glancing at Sasuke once more from the corner of her eyes.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked, confused by her actions.

The girl in question screamed bloody murder as she held her shaking head between her hands.

"Sasuke's just a head without a body and he's talking!" she shrieked before falling back in a dead faint.

"And that's my partner," Sasuke commented weakly, almost in disbelief at being teamed up with such an unreliable girl.

"Oh, stop whining," Reiko said, the corner of her lips tugging up at his expression. "She's not the only one you have, you know."

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked in annoyance as Reiko kneeled down next to his head, placing her hands flat on the ground.

"Getting you out of this," she replied calmly, closing her eyes as she concentrated.

Sasuke watched as the masked girl who he barely knew anything about, who even impressed him with her combined jutsu attack, focus her chakra. She breathed deeply as her hair slowly waved from the concentration of her chakra, her hands actually glowing as sweat dripped from her brow. Sasuke was about to rudely say that it wasn't working when he felt the earth around him loosen up. He watched with wide eyes as he was slowing raised from the trap as the earth shifted away from him.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke snapped, angry at himself for needing help from some weak kunoichi. "I could have gotten out on my own."

"I know," she said softly, eyes still closed and face relaxed. She almost looked like she was sleeping, Sasuke noted. "But we're a team. We need to band together and work as a unit." She had managed to make a hole around the boy and lift him halfway up when her own words sunk into her head. Her eyes shot open as she realized the whole point of the test. "That's it! I know what we're supposed to do!"

She tried to stand when her head spun viciously, her vision darkening. She hadn't realized she used so much of the chakra Hakuoh lent her after her own had been depleted. She groaned as she collapsed forward, right into the Uchiha. He caught her reflexively, staring at her in surprise as she fell unconscious.

"Huh?" Sasuke asked, shaking her shoulders lightly. "What are you talking about?"

The girl only moaned subconsciously in response, limp in his arms. He sighed before shifting her in his arms, supporting her back and legs, before she could fall in the hole she made to release him from their sensei's jutsu. He jumped from the hole and laid her out on the ground a few feet away from Sakura.

He took a few moments to really look at her, the only girl other than Hinata to never pay him any attention like the other fan girls. Her dirty blonde hair fanned out on the ground, her bangs almost completely blocking her headband from view. Her skin was rather pale, contrasting heavily with her dark choice of clothing. She had a slim figure, but he saw how her muscles moved when she fought Kakashi before they left his sight. Actually, for the first time, he realized how short she really was. She had to be the shortest person in their class.

He thought back to their Academy days. She never really seemed close to anyone, but she never went out of her way to make enemies either. The only one she was really close to was Naruto, though he had no idea why. She had always worn that mask, and he thought that maybe even Naruto had never seen her face. Did she have some kind of nasty scar she wanted to hide? No, she wasn't the type to worry about looks, he concluded with a shake of his head. He wondered what she actually looked like beneath that mask.

Sakura moaned, shocking Sasuke back to his senses as he found his hand reaching for the edge of her mask. He jerked his hand back as if it was one fire, turning to his other female teammate.

"Sasuke," Sakura breathed before gasping and lunging at him. Being lost in his thoughts on why he was even reaching for Reiko, he didn't notice until Sakura wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "You're okay!" She laughed joyously in relief as Sasuke tried to pry her arms off of him.

"Hey!" Sasuke shouted. "Cut it out! Let go!"

A short time before, Naruto had seen the boxed lunches Kakashi had made. They were placed at the memorial stone next to a small bouquet of flowers. He had struggled to get himself down, finding it was harder to try to cut the rope when his free leg swung around wildly. Kei had squawked in annoyance at his movements, flapping his wings and lowering himself to hover in front of Naruto's face.

Naruto was yelling at the bird to let him down, but the raptor simply cocked its head to the side, not understanding his human speech. Eventually, Kei figured he might as well cut the rope, finding that spending a half an hour upside down was enough of a punishment.

Naruto landed in a heap on the ground before scrambling to the food, smiling maniacally as he figured he would eat the lunches before Kakashi could keep them from eating. That way, Naruto would have enough energy to fight and get one of those bells. Kei had followed the boy, landing on the ground a few meters away and began preening his feathers.

Unfortunately, Kakashi appeared right behind him before he could enjoy his large lunch. He was soon tied to the post just before the bell rang, signaling the arrival of noontime.

"Ugh! I wasted too much time!" Sasuke said angrily when the bell rang. He started towards the wooden posts, but then remembered his still unconscious teammate. He sighed in annoyance as he stalked towards Reiko and picked her up bridal style before making his way back to where his sensei would be. It's not like Sakura could have brought the girl back, even if she tried, which she probably wouldn't.

"Sasuke," Sakura mumbled worriedly as he walked off, momentarily forgetting about the girl being carried in his arms. When she remembered, her inner self immediately began raging before she remembered that Reiko had never shown any interest in the Uchiha. However, her Sasuke was a magnet for any kind of girl, so she would just keep an eye on them.

When the three Genin broke out of the tree line, Naruto glanced over to find his sister unconscious in his rival's arms. Kakashi noticed the same thing, but simply raised a brow curiously.

"What did you do to Reiko, you bastard?" Naruto shouted angrily, kicking his feet helplessly in the air as he glared daggers at Sasuke.

"She just exhausted her chakra," Sasuke tsked at the boy with his own glare. It wasn't like he wanted to carry some strange girl around. He was an avenger, not some babysitter.

"Yeah, right!" Naruto growled, but his eyes quickly widened in concern when Reiko groaned and squirmed in the Uchiha's hold.

"Warm," she breathed, subconsciously burrowing her face into his chest, causing the boy to blush lightly.

"Hey! Don't get so close to my Sasuke!" Sakura screeched angrily, finally reaching her limit with the girl.

Sasuke, very uncomfortable at this point, simply dropped the girl on the ground and stepped back. He wasn't one to get embarrassed easily, but how had this girl made him blush like an idiot? He glared down at the girl as she moaned and rubbed the back of her head that hit the ground.

"Huh?" she moaned, pushing herself up with one arm as she winced, looking at her surroundings. She saw Naruto tied to a post, Sakura fuming as she glared daggers at her, and Sasuke tsked as he walked around her.

"What'd you do that for?" Naruto shouted angrily, kicking his feet again. "Don't just drop her like a sack of potatoes!"

"Wait, what did he do?" Reiko asked with narrowed eyes on the Uchiha as Kei squawked and flew over to perch himself on her stomach.

As if on cue, everyone's stomachs began to growl in hunger as Kakashi cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Uh oh," Kakashi said, arms crossed as he looked down at the Genin seated before him, save for the tied up Naruto. "Stomach's growling, huh? That's too bad." He moved one hand to his hip as he lifted a finger in the air. "Oh, by the way, this exercise? Well, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the Academy."

"What?" Sakura asked as Naruto yelled happily and Sasuke smirked confidently. "I passed? All I did was faint and fall over. Do you get points for that?"

Reiko narrowed her eyes, feeling that something wasn't right.

"Then that means all four of us passed!" Naruto said excitedly as Sakura jumped around and cheered.

"Yes," the Jounin said, his only visible eye closing in what his students assumed was a smile. "All three of you are being dropped from the program… permanently."

Naruto and Sakura froze and Sasuke scowled.

"What the hell?" Reiko yelled, slamming her fist on the ground, disturbing Kei who moved to perch on the top of a post.

"Drop us from the program?" Naruto asked frantically. "That means we can never become ninja! You said if we couldn't take the bells we'd be sent back to the Academy. You can't just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?"

"You don't have the authority to do that!" Reiko yelled, jumping to her feet, seemingly recovered from her chakra exhaustion.

"Do you think the Hokage won't take the word of an experienced Jounin over the whines of you guys?" Kakashi asked, hand on his hips as he turned to address Naruto. "And because you don't think like ninja. You think like little kids – like brats."

Sasuke lunged to his feet and sprinted at Kakashi, one hand reaching for his holster. Naruto gasped as Sakura shouted a warning. In the blink of an eye, the man had Sasuke pinned to the ground. He sat on the boy's back, one arm twisted behind and a foot on his head.

"You think it's all about you," Kakashi said, anger slipping into his voice for the first time, showing real emotion.

"Let go of Sasuke!" Sakura screamed when the boy grunted as he tried to free himself. "You can't step on him like he's some bug!"

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja," Kakashi said darkly, locking eyes with the other three Genin before him. "You think it's a game, huh? Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"I mean you never realized what this exercise is all about! Reiko figured it out, but she passed out from chakra exhaustion before she could even tell anyone!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, turning to Reiko who had her head bowed. "What's he talking about?"

"Teamwork," Reiko said quietly, clenching her fists tightly.

"That is what determined whether you passed or failed," Kakashi said.

"But – that's," Sakura stuttered. "I wanted to ask you that from the beginning."

"He was testing our teamwork," Reiko said, interrupting the speech Kakashi was about to start. The Jounin's eyes bore holes in her head as she continued. "They put us in squads because we would have to work together for our missions to succeed. He only had three bells so it would divide us, but he wanted to test whether we would put our personal needs aside and work together anyways. Isn't that right, sensei?" She looked up through her bangs to stare defiantly into his eye.

"Exactly," Kakashi said, nodding, but the edge was still in his voice. "It's too late now, but if all four of you had come at me, then you might have been able to take them. Well, anyway, it's over."

"But, you wanted to cause group conflict!" Sakura said.

"That's right. I purposely pitted you against each other. Like Reiko said, I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But you," Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke before looking at the other three once more. "It never even crossed your mind. Sakura!" The girl jerked when he said her name. "You obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him! Naruto!" Naruto jerked as well. "You do everything on your own. Everything." Kakashi looked down at Sasuke, grinding his foot on the boy's head. "And you, Sasuke, thought the others were so far beneath you that they were worthless. Arrogance. Reiko!" the girl looked up fully, waiting for him to continue. "You were the only one that came close to teamwork, if you can call it that. You left your bird to let Naruto down when he 'learned his lesson'. You just hid in the shadows waiting for the right moment to strike, using your own teammate as a distraction. Though you tried to get Sasuke out of my jutsu, but you were so depleted of chakra that you fainted, despite finally figuring out the purpose of the exercise. Ninja missions are carried out in squads, again, like Reiko said. Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi understand this. When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure, and death. For example," Kakashi said, reaching into his pouch for a kunai and placing it against Sasuke's neck. "Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies."

"Over my dead body!" Reiko shouted angrily, turning to face Sakura who cringed from the look in the other girl's eyes. Naruto was still wailing as he freaked out.

"That's what happens on a mission," Kakashi said, standing up.

"Oh, boy," Sakura sighed. "That was really scary."

"The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice and someone ends up dead." Kakashi was spinning his kunai around his finger before catching it and replacing it in his pouch. He stood up and walked towards the memorial stone that had the bouquet of flowers placed in front of it. "On every mission your life is on the line. Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village."

"That's it!" Naruto yelled, repeating it two more times. "Now I know! I decided I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not going to live and die for nothing like a dog. I'm gonna be a hero! A hero!"

Reiko and Sakura glared at him for his outburst, fire in the masked girl's eyes despite knowing that Naruto had no idea what that stone was really about. Kakashi only glanced back at him form the corner of his eye.

"They are… a special kind of hero."

"Huh? What kind of heroes are they? Come on, tell us!" Kakashi stayed silent, understandably in Reiko's perspective. However, Naruto was impatient as always. "Well?"

"They're all… K.I.A."

"Ohh, that sounds really cool!" Naruto shouted, not understanding the simple acronym or the gravity of his words, despite the serious tone and the depressing atmosphere.

"It means," Sakura started as she looked at the blonde boy, but stopped as Reiko took the reins.

"Idiot!" Reiko yelled, knocking her fist into his head, making him yelp in pain.

"What was that for?" Naruto cried indignantly.

"K.I.A. means killed in action," she said, ignoring his question as she looked toward the ground, fists clenched at her sides and a frown on her face. "This is a memorial stone for those who died in battle to protect the village."

Naruto's attitude quickly changed as he frowned as well, berating himself internally for not realizing it sooner. He looked at the ground off the side, eyes unusually downcast at the revelation. Here he was, wanting to be a hero just like them, but didn't even realize his enthusiasm for such a thing was actually disrespectful in this situation.

"The names of my closest friends are engraved here," Kakashi said, his own fists clenched, a brief glimpse at his emotions. Kakashi stared at the stone, memories flashing by as he remembered the deaths of his teammates.

Sakura looked up at her sensei, lips parted in slight surprise at the tone of his voice, the regret and sadness in it that Reiko hadn't missed either. Sasuke remained quiet as usual, and Naruto surprisingly kept his mouth shut as the minutes ticked by, not showing signs of his impatience for once.

"All right," Kakashi said, steel lacing his voice as he turned back to his squad with narrowed eyes. "I'm going to give you one more chance, but I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Each lunch now to build up strength, but Naruto doesn't get any." The boy gritted his teeth as he glared at his sensei when he started to walk towards them. "It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself." Kakashi locked eyes with each Genin as he continued. "And if anyone tries to feed him, that person will immediately fail." Reiko narrowed her eyes at him, a calculating look on her face. "I make the rules. You follow them. Got it?"

Before anyone could respond, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Silently, lost in their own thoughts, Sasuke and Sakura picked up their own lunches and began to eat. Reiko stared at hers, glancing at her brother who was trying to not salivate at the sight of the food. Reiko was exhausted, but she had actually eaten very early in the morning before falling asleep. Naruto was in much more need of the lunch.

"Kei," Reiko said in a commanding voice, for the first time addressing her partner vocally. He squawked and flew into the air, circling around the area with his keen eyes scanning the terrain. The other three looked on in confusion as Reiko grabbed her lunch and held the food laden chopsticks in front of Naruto's face.

"This is no big deal!" Naruto said as he turned his face away from the offered food resolutely. It would have been convincing if his stomach hadn't decided that moment to loudly complain. "I can go without eating for days – for weeks – believe it! This is no big deal!" His stomach growled again, and his strong expression started crumbling. "No problem…"

"Naruto," Reiko said sternly, making the blonde look at her. "I know for a fact that you can barely sleep through the night without needing a midnight snack, let alone skip any kind of meal." Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but she took this opportunity to shove the chopsticks in his mouth.

"Reiko!" Sakura shouted in surprise and slight fear, wondering what would happen if their sensei found out. "You can't do that! You know what Sensei said!"

"Quiet!" Reiko shushed, glaring at the girl. "Do you want Kakashi Sensei to hear you? He wants us to work as a team, but leaving Naruto hungry goes against that. We need to work together at full strength if we want to get those bells."

"If Kakashi Sensei catches you, you'll be failed," Sasuke said with a brow raised.

"I have Kei acting as a look out," Reiko said.

"But, you need to eat too!" Naruto said around the food his sister kept shoveling into his mouth.

"Kei caught me some fish before I went to sleep this morning," Reiko explained. "You need this food much more than me."

"Here," Sasuke said with an annoyed sigh, holding his own lunch up at the surprised siblings, Sakura also looking on with wide eyes. "You exhausted your chakra, so you need to eat to."

"Is the infamous Sasuke Uchiha offering to share his lunch?" Reiko asked, a teasing smirk on her face.

"Tch, yeah, right," Sasuke commented. "Like you said, we need to work as a team. If even one of us isn't at their best, then our efforts will be ineffective. That hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission."

Sakura looked down at her own lunch, gulping loudly, before holding hers up to Naruto as well. Naruto stared wide eyed at his crush, who had her own eyes closed tightly. When she looked up at Naruto dramatically watering eyes, she smiled softly. Reiko smiled at the kunoichi. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

An explosion of smoke from the front covered the air, the wind whipping at the team's hair and clothes. Kei squawked from above as he swooped down to land on Reiko's outstretched arm.

"You!" Kakashi shouted angrily, appearing from the smoke as the wind whirled around them.

Naruto was shouting fearfully as he struggled in his bonds, while Sakura brought her arms up to protect her face as she screamed, and Sasuke grunted as his body tensed. Reiko narrowed her eyes, irritated that the man snuck past Kei's keen eyes.

"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment," Kakashi said as he began weaving through hand signs too fast for Reiko to catch.

Reiko reached back into her pouch as she waited for his next move. Kei shuffled uneasily on her arm, his talons digging in painfully, as the weather took a turn for the worst. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as dark clouds overtook the once clear blue skies. Reiko had to grab onto one of the wooden posts as the ground shook violently beneath their feet.

"Any last words?" Kakashi asked ominously.

Sasuke scowled at the Jounin while Sakura held her head as she trembled in fear, her eyes shut tightly.

"But, you said," Naruto stuttered as his body was shaken roughly.

"Yes?"

"You said that there were four of us! That's what you said and that's why Sakura, Sasuke, and Reiko…" The whiskered boy trailed off.

"We're all on the same squad and we're all in it together," Sasuke said, glancing at the blonde, Reiko nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, that's right!" Sakura said, gaining confidence from her team. "We gave our lunch to him because the four of us are one!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto yelled. "Believe it! That's right!"

"The four of you are one?" Kakashi asked darkly as he stalked up to the Genin and crouched in front of them. "That's your excuse?" The entire team was tense as they stared the Jounin down. Suddenly, his expression changed to something that looked a little like he was proud of them. "Hmm, you pass."

"Huh?" Sakura and Naruto asked.

"What?" Reiko asked, blinking.

"You. Pass," Kakashi said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked warily as the sky started to clear. "How'd we pass?"

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded," Kakashi explained. "The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves." Kakashi straightened. "A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. That's true. But, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

"He's, uh," Naruto said, his voice wavering as tears filled his eyes. Reiko raised a brow at him, crossed her arms as Kei settled on a post. "He's kinda cool."

"Oh, stop blubbering, crybaby!" Reiko laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"The exercise is over," Kakashi continued. He gave them a thumbs up. "Everyone passes. Squad Seven starts its first mission tomorrow."

"Yes!" Sakura shouted happily while her crush stayed silent.

"I did it! I did it!" Naruto yelled gleefully. "Believe it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"

"Let's go home," Kakashi said, walking back towards the village.

A stoic Sasuke rose and followed, a giggling Sakura close behind. Reiko started walking away as well, until she heard Naruto grunting as he squirmed under the rope. The girl glanced back at him.

"I knew they'd do this!" Naruto yelled angrily. "It happens every time! Believe it! You guys forgot to untie me!"

Reiko chuckled as she made her way back to the blonde. He looked at her hopefully as she turned to look at her bird, still perched on the stump next to Naruto's. She hummed and nodded her head occasionally, as if having a full blown conversation he wasn't privy too. He looked anxiously between the two, eyebrows furrowed before Reiko finally spoke.

"I completely agree," Reiko said with a smile as she nodded to the bird. She looked back at Naruto as Kei hopped on top of his own post. "Kei says I deserve a day off from your antics."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Reiko!" Naruto called out to the girl walking away from him.

"He'll cut you loose when he decides you've learned your lesson," she said with a wave, ignoring his shouts.

"What lesson is that?" he shouted desperately.

"Hell if I know!" she laughed back, finally disappearing from view.

 **If you want more, give me a review! I love when people favorite and follow my story, but I want some feedback from you all! I want at least one review before I post another chapter, but the more reviews, the faster the posts will come out too! I just caught up to what I have already written, so the more reviews I get, the faster new chapters will come out!**

 **SO REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE!**


	4. Training and Unforgettable Past

**Hello again! It's been so long because people haven't been reviewing! I received some PMs about people wanting the story continued, but it was after so long and I had to get back in the groove, especially with school and work and moving out going on at the moment. I think this is a pretty long chapter, at least longer than I was planning originally. I loved the PMs begging for more, but I want you to post those as reviews instead, if you could. Pretty please? I hope you like the chapter! It's kind of a filler, but I think it's necessary for some character development that will be important later on. Enjoy!**

 _Ready to give this a go?_ Reiko projected her thought to Kei, who circled around the training field below.

 _Of course._ Kei replied arrogantly, his prideful bird ego emerging as he let loose a high-pitched, whistle-like sound, a common call from his species, from above.

Reiko nodded to herself as her eyes narrowed in concentration. She raised her arms in front of her, hands forming the tiger seal as her eyes slid shut. She focused on her chakra, at first just feeling it flow through the pathways in her body, pulsing with her heart like the blood in her veins. This is was she did every time she tried a new jutsu for the first time, just like now.

Her brows furrowed as she changed her focus from her evenly flowing chakra to her eyes. Her lips were set in a hard line as she flared her chakra, slowly working against her chakra's normal paths to build up behind her eyes. Mentally, she picture what she planned the jutsu to do, feeling it with her body and soul as her hands flew through signs before freezing on the tiger seal once more.

Reiko took a deep, calming breath as she slowly opened her eyes. Her blue-green eyes were replaced with a deep bronze, the iris and pupil taking up the entire eyeball. The eyes darted back and forth, but weren't seeing Team Seven in the training grounds in front of her. No, she was suddenly seeing vast, green forests below and an endless blue sky above.

Pushing down her excitement and elation at successfully pulling off the jutsu, she forced herself to keep her concentration and poured more chakra into her now dark orbs.

 _So, this is what you see?_ Reiko thought absently to her partner.

She couldn't feel the wind rustling through his feathers, or the weightless buoyancy as he glided over air currents, or the tilting shift as he turned to circle around the group below once more. None of that bothered her, but she was most disappointed to not feel the freedom of flying. Sure, she could see what he could, but that was it. She couldn't feel anything. All she felt was the ground beneath her earth bound feet as her eyes soared through the sky with Kei.

Actually, now that she thought about it, it was sort of disorienting. Her feet and body were still, but her eyes were moving and sending her brain messages as if she was moving her own body. It kind of made her nauseous, but she pushed down the feeling as the golden eagle looked below.

She watched as Naruto practiced his Shadow Clone Jutsu on one end of the field, focusing on taijutsu applications and combination attacks that could be of use. Earlier, she left him after a time of target practice with kunai and shuriken. Since Reiko and Naruto lived together, were like siblings, and were both Genin on the same team to boot, it was no surprise that they were training together. They even trained together when they were still in the Academy, and they still would have even if they ended up on different teams.

On the opposite end of the field, Reiko saw Sasuke beating up a tree. He had already beaten the bark off, but kept pounding away at the wood beneath. Part of the area was singed and a few small craters littered the ground from when the boy practiced some jutsus.

Kei changed his course and dove down towards the ground, forcing Reiko to ignore another wave of nausea. He opened his wings as he neared the solid earth, opening his wings to level out only a couple meters above the ground.

He flew by Sasuke, and Reiko caught a glimpse of pink and red underneath one of the nearby trees. It was Sakura. She wasn't training like the rest of them, which wasn't unusual when Kakashi Sensei wasn't present. If she could get away with it, like now, she would just sit under the shade of a tree with her back resting against the trunk as she watched Sasuke train.

Actually, Reiko was surprised Sasuke even let the fan girl do that. Then again, the single-minded boy tended to really focus on his training and probably barely noticed her presence. Sakura rested her chin on her palms as she watched the boy move with a dreamy smile plastered on her face and a light blush dusting her cheeks.

Kei shifted and moved towards the middle of the training field where Reiko was standing, giving the girl a view of herself. Her eyes were different, looking like Kei's own eyes. Her body was still standing, hands forming the tiger seal. As the bird flew closer, she noticed that her whole body was trembling with the exertion of keeping up the jutsu. Suddenly, her eyes started aching terribly and she could feel her body shaking as it fought to stay standing under the exhaustion that made her want to fall to the ground.

 _Crap, reached my limit all ready._

Reiko grumbled as she cancelled the jutsu. She gasped as she stumbled forward, legs shaking, but locked her knees in place to keep standing. She pressed the heels of her hands on her eyes as the throbbed in pain. Since it was the first time trying this jutsu, she knew something like this would happen. Just like training the physical body, a muscle will hurt if it is pushed harder than usual. Adding chakra into the mix, her body felt weak from using up too much chakra.

Every time a new jutsu is performed, especially if it was created by the user, there is always significant chakra drain, especially for a Genin that doesn't have good chakra control. Granted, Reiko had very good control for her age due to the training her family put her through at a young age, but she is still a young ninja. She had expected to last longer than she had, but at least the jutsu was successful. She just had to keep practicing and train harder.

She was hunched over slightly, breathing deeply as the pain slowly subsided, when something went wrong.

"Watch out!" the girl heard Naruto shout, but when she opened her eyes, her vision was too blurry to even distinguish the ground from the trees.

She held her head as the blurs spun violently. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her arm as something cut through the flesh. Whatever sliced through her arm jerked her to the side as something flew past her head. She tripped over her own feet in the confusion and landed hard on her back. Reiko groaned as she lay spread eagle on the ground, staring up at the sky as the dizziness subsided and her vision returned, as crystal clear as ever. She sighed, feeling exhausted as blood ran down her arm and pooled slightly on the ground.

She pushed herself to rest back on her elbows to find Kei whistling angrily at the blonde, flying close to his head with bloody claws extended. Sakura was even running over to punch the boy in the back of the head, sending him toppling to the ground with a yelp. Reiko looked over her shoulder to find a large log usually used in a substitution jutsu lodged in the ground behind her. Her eyes widened, realizing that she was almost hit in the face and wondered what bizarre event took place that something like this could even happen.

She turned to glare slightly at Naruto, but she quickly sighed and relaxed as she saw that he was being properly thrown through the loop by a tag team consisting of Sakura and Kei. Besides, she knew Naruto would never want to hurt a friend, especially Reiko who was like his sister. He was already being punished enough and strange things always happened around the crazy blonde.

She was about to reluctantly push her tired body to its feet when a hand appeared in her line of vision. She followed the arm to find Sasuke was the one that offered his hand. She smiled slightly, grateful for the help, but knowing the Uchiha wasn't doing it to be kind. He wasn't the type to do that. He was probably annoyed at the situation Naruto caused, or Reiko for being so mediocre and needing a helping hand.

"Thanks," she said, giving the boy a grateful smile as his face remained impassive. She went to pull her hand away, but he didn't let go. She looked down at their joined hands, and then back at the blank expression on Sasuke's face.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side slightly as he stared right into the girl's blue-green eyes. He never really paid attention before, but her eyes were an interesting color. He would never say they were pretty or anything, but they weren't unpleasant to look at. He looked down at their hands, feeling how soft her hand was compared to his own. They were both Genin, both shinobi on the same squad, yet her hand felt somehow delicate. She wasn't like the other girls, and she trained hard, evident by the few callouses she had from wielding weapons. But, her hands were still small and slim, almost being engulfed by his hand, so very different, but also similar.

Reiko didn't know how to react as Sasuke stared her in the eyes, feeling as if she was being swallowed in the black abyss of his own. She felt somehow relieved when he broke eye contact to look at their hands, but she felt something else too. Was it… disappointment? Regret? Why?

She cleared her throat as she heard the commotion behind her come to an end and after she grew more uncomfortable than she would like to admit. Sasuke jumped slightly at the sudden noise, as if being thrown from his own world and back into reality. He dropped her hand like it was on fire, but it was more like he threw her hand away from himself.

She felt a light blush creep up her neck to rest on her cheeks, being instantly grateful for her mask to hide such an embarrassing reaction. Why would she be embarrassed at such a situation? She couldn't really feel that way. She must have a fever or something, the girl reasoned.

"Reiko!" Naruto cried dramatically as he tackled me to the side, arms wrapping around me in a hug as they fell in a heap. "I'm so sorry I almost killed you! I was practicing my Shadow Clone Jutsu and I messed up! I promise to be more careful, just don't stop cooking me food!"

"It's all right," Reiko said with a resigned sigh. Sometimes she wondered how he survived so long without her. She pulled her arms free and started to try to escape the blonde's hold. "I won't die so easily, you should know that by now." Reiko grunted as she finally pushed the boy off of her.

"Honestly, Naruto," Sakura scolded from above, fists on her hips with her narrowed eyes fixed on the blonde. "I don't know how you even passed. We all saw you fail, but you came in with that headband the next day anyway, and then there's that new jutsu you learned!"

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Well, Iruka Sensei never said I couldn't tell anyone, so I guess it's okay to tell you guys. We're on the same team anyway."

"I was curious on how you learned a forbidden technique," Reiko commented.

"Forbidden technique?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side a little. "What are you talking about?"

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is a technique from the Leaf Village's Sacred Scroll," Reiko explained. "That's all I really know about the jutsu, but if that scroll got into the wrong hands, the village would be in danger."

"Yeah, I didn't know something like that when Mizuki Sensei told me about it," Naruto said, looking almost sheepish.

"What does he have to do with anything?"

"Well, after the exam, Mizuki Sensei wanted to talk to me. He told me that there was a secret way to pass the exam to become a Genin. All I had to do was steal the Sacred Scroll from the Hokage Tower and learn a jutsu from it. If I could do that, then I'd pass."

"How could you believe something that was so obviously a lie?" Sakura asked incredulously, believing the blonde's lack of mental capabilities had no bounds.

Reiko shot the girl a look and she immediately shut her mouth. Naruto kept talking as if Sakura never interrupted him, staring at the ground with a far off look in his eyes that was very uncharacteristic for the usually bubbly and hyperactive boy.

"I wanted so badly to pass and become a Genin this time, to pass along with Reiko and everyone, that I didn't even think Mizuki Sensei could be lying to me."

"No one would expect their sensei to lie to them," Reiko said softly, putting a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder.

"So, I stole the scroll and went to where Mizuki Sensei told me to go. I got bored waiting, so I started reading the scroll without him. I only had time to learn one jutsu before Iruka Sensei found me, angrier than I've ever seen him before now that I think about it."

Naruto's voice trailed off as his thoughts were surely brought back to that night, the corner of his lip pulling down slightly in a frown. Sakura and Reiko were looking at Naruto with wide eyes, never seeing him act this way before. Even Sasuke was watching with a strange intensity.

"What happened next?" Sakura asked quickly, her voice trembling slightly as if she didn't want to know what happened next, but desperately needed to at the same time.

"Mizuki Sensei came and attacked Iruka Sensei. He told me the secrets everyone had been keeping from me, and I didn't know what was going on anymore. Mizuki Sensei tried to kill me, but Iruka Sensei saved me. I didn't know what to think anymore, so I ran away. I hid behind a tree close to where Mizuki Sensei and Iruka Sensei ended up and I heard everything they said. Iruka Sensei defended me despite everything that happened. Mizuki Sensei tried to kill him, but I used my new jutsu and kind of saved Iruka Sensei, I guess. That's how I passed."

Everyone was silent as they stared at Naruto, not expecting something so outrageous to have happened. Naruto's shoulders were tense as his eyes bore holes in the ground under the tense atmosphere. Sakura had never seen this side of Naruto before, and never thought anything of the boy until she heard the story. Maybe she had misjudged him.

"Mizuki was nothing but a traitor," Reiko said, her voice sounding oddly void of emotion, surprising the other Genin. Her head was bowed, bangs shadowing her eyes as she slowly rose to her feet and walked a few meters towards the village. "Even those closest to you, the ones you trust the most, can betray you in the blink of an eye."

She released a shuddering breath, eyes clamped shut as memories rose to the surface and haunted her despite such a long passage of time. Her own family and village betraying her, how the same thing happened the first and most important friend, and how she betrayed him as well when she ran away. She would never forgive herself for such a thing as long as she lived.

Naruto watched the girl he had come to know as his sister tremble slightly before clenching her fists in determination. He had never seen her look as vulnerable as he saw in that very moment. She was always the strong one, taking care of him, and he thought of her as invincible. However, in that moment, he saw her as just another twelve-year-old girl that just became a Genin like the rest of them.

Sasuke's brow was furrowed as he curiously observed the girl in front of them. Her voice sounded as hollow as he felt after Itachi's betrayal when he slaughtered the entire clan, but left Sasuke alive. Her voice sounded so lonely, and she looked more fragile than a porcelain doll. She always kept up this strong and occasionally sarcastic front, but he realized there was something else she hid deep beneath that façade. Something happened in her past, something that made Sasuke feel a strange kinship between them. He always figured girls were weak creatures that would only get in the way, but Reiko started to pique his interest. He would keep an eye on her.

Sakura felt a chill run down her spine at the emptiness radiating from her fellow kunoichi's voice. She had never been a friend of Reiko's, but that strange girl that hung around Naruto never had many friends to begin with. She never really opened up to the other girls, but she never really made any enemies either. She dressed differently than the other kunoichi, and never really liked the gender specific classes the girls had to sit through. She would joke around with the other boys, and never thought twice about getting dirty and pushing herself more than all the other girls. Sakura regretted not getting to know the girl, but she would try to do better.

Kei hovered over his partner's shoulder, watching the blood from his talons flow down her arm and soak the bandages. He whistled softly to get her attention, and she jumped, startled from the confines of her mind and thrown back into the present. She ran the hand of her uninjured arm over her face as she breathed deeply, trying to calm down her racing heart.

She felt the pain start to throb from her arm, and she looked over to find deep gashes cutting through white wraps and flesh. She sighed, wondering how she only noticed such a thing in that moment.

"I've got to go to the hospital," Reiko said, starting to walk to her destination. "I'll see you guys later."

"Reiko!" Naruto called, scrambling to his feet. "It's my fault so let me take you there!"

"I'm fine, Naruto," Reiko said, pausing momentarily. She glanced back at him with a closed-eyed smile, but there was an underlying anger beneath it. "I want you to stay and practice some more. We don't need another incident like today, do we?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto gulped nervously.

Reiko turned and continued on her way to the hospital with Kei flying with her. She stared at the ground as she walked, not paying attention as her feet led her to her true destination, home, with a dark and faraway look in her clouded eyes.

She unlocked the door to the apartment and closed the door behind her. She made her way to her room, finding Kei perched on the sill of the open window, preening his feathers. She sat on her bed, and winced as she slowly unwrapped the bandages on her arms, discarding the stained cloth in the garbage bin by her nightstand. She turned to inspect the wound, noticing it already healing, the skin stitching itself back together.

She nodded, mentally thanking Hakuoh as she went into the bathroom to wash the blood off. She grabbed a washcloth, soaking it with warm water before lathering it with disinfectant soap and scrubbing at her arm. The blood turned the running water a deep pink before disappearing down the drain. She rinsed and rung out the cloth before hanging it to dry and using a hand towel to dry off.

Her skin was pale from always being protected from the sun, but Reiko could still make out the unmistakable white scars littering her appendage. Her other arm and legs weren't much different, and even her abdomen had marks that ran long and thick across otherwise perfect skin. Her most recent injury, given by Kei as he pulled her out of the way, healed perfectly and didn't leave a single mark.

That's how it has always been since Hakuoh was sealed inside her. The Phoenix wasn't only a powerful creature of immense chakra that blessed the clan with the ability to communicate with their avian partners, but it was also a spirit of healing. The Phoenix was a sign of rebirth, new beginnings, and most importantly for Reiko, healing. Whatever wound she sustained after the sealing healed quickly and flawlessly due to the Phoenix's healing attributes within the chakra.

It was something like a built in medic-nin that never ran out of chakra – very useful for any shinobi. However, the scars she obtained from injures before Hakuoh was sealed would never go away. Besides, she didn't want them to disappear. Those scars were a reminder of why she was grateful to be in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, her new home after her family betrayed her. She never liked to think of how she obtained the marks, but she would never forget such treatment from someone she loved and trusted her entire life, that is, until that life-changing night.

She was brought from her thought when she heard a loud groaning sound. She jumped, startled once more, as she looked down to find her hands gripping the sink so hard with enough strength to make the hard material protest. She released the porcelain as if it burned her, never realizing that her emotions had brought out her unpredictable strength that no one knew about.

Actually, now that she thought about it, Naruto didn't even know much about her. Despite living together for such a long time and becoming close as siblings, she never told him of her past. Today was the first time she talked about it to anyone, but she vowed it would be the last. Her past was exactly that, the past. Right here, right now, was her new life, and she wouldn't let her past interfere with taking advantage of this second chance, the new slate.

When she was young, she was gullible, weak, and desperate for approval. Now, she was stronger, smarter, and would keep herself protected from any harm that may come her way. She refused to let herself be hurt like she did before. She would tremble before someone and let them beat her down into submission. She would grow strong enough to protect those she cherished, and never back down until she died. That was her own ninja way.

She shook her head and returned to her room, grabbing more bandages and wrapping her arm up once more. She may not want her scars to disappear, but she didn't want others to see them. They would ask questions or pity her, and she wanted neither to happen. She would not be pitied, and she would leave her other life in the past where it belonged.

Naruto had seen the scars once when he walked in on her taking a shower. She gave him a look like prey caught in the hunters trap, and despite the burning curiosity and concern in his eyes, he never asked a single question about it. Even though he can be a thoughtless idiot, he knew that he shouldn't pry into unpleasant memories, knowing the toll it could take on someone. He told her he would wait until she wanted to tell him, and that was that.

Once Reiko finished wrapping her arm, she got up and looked around her room. It was neat and clean, unlike Naruto's room. She felt an impulse that she hadn't felt in a while and hesitated. Kei noticed the change in the air and watched his partner cautiously as she listened for Naruto possibly coming home and glanced around in paranoia.

Reiko knelt down next to her bed, eyes wide and uncertain as fidgety fingers pulled the blanket up the side and reached underneath, feeling around until she made contact with the sharp edge of a box. She gently held it and brought it out.

Kei noticed the box was rather small, probably made to hold little trinkets for souvenirs. Reiko carefully held it in her hands as she lifted it onto the soft mattress like it was made of glass instead of sturdy, polished wood. For a long time, she only stared at it, emotions flashing across her face too quick for Kei to comprehend until she settled on a desperate, but scared grimace.

She reached out a gloved hand, fingertips caressing the simple, smooth, surface in an almost loving way. The thick layer of dust slowly disappeared, particles floating in the air around the room as Reiko stared with a deep sadness and guilt and regret held deep within her eyes. She raised trembling hands to the box, flipping the rusted clasp up and lifting the lid open in an agonizingly slow motion.

Tears flooded her eyes, but she fought to keep them from falling as she looked at the contents. Her eyes glanced over odds and ends, ignoring them and locking onto the pictures beneath. Her heart raced in her chest as a trembling hand reached inside and shakily withdrew the glossy, square sheets. A small layer of dust had also accumulated on the top photo despite being locked away, and she felt her whole body shake with swirling, complicate emotions as she wiped it away with her thumb.

She froze solid as her eyes finally saw the first picture, old and slightly faded, but still bringing vivid memories to the surface. It was sunset in the picture. The bland, tan buildings surrounding a small, bare park. Underneath a single tree providing the only kind of shade, though sparse it may be, were two children.

One was a short boy with vibrant red hair that sat leaning up against the tree. Pale blue-green eyes surrounded with dark shadows from lack of sleep stood out from even paler skin. A collared tan poncho hung off his thin shoulders, arms sticking out from its depths. One hand lay on the ground, and the other rested on the arm of the small girl lying her head on his outstretched legs, and a gently smile tugging at his lips.

The girl wore old sandals, torn and worn from use on her even dirtier feet from playing all day in the sandy park. A tan, simple dress hung on the girl's shoulders from thick straps, also dirty from playing. The girl's eyes were closed in peaceful slumber, completely exhausted, but her lips were stretched in a small smile. She was using the boy's dark clothed legs as a pillow with a teddy bear held close to her chest.

She took a shuddering breath as she slipped that card behind the second. She couldn't keep the tears from running down her face as she took in the sight of the next photo. The same two children were the main focus once more. The same park decorated the background, but the lighting revealed it was midday. The children each had an arm around the other's neck, displaying toothy smiles for the camera.

She choked back a sob as she held the photos to her chest. She felt a hole in her chest as she felt the desperate need to have him near once more. They were both alone in that village, only having each other to connect and relate to. She always regretted running away, but after that night, it was her only choice. After seeing the slaughter in the burning room, she feared for his own safety.

She left her most precious person behind, and though she gained new people that care for her and she cared for them in return, they will never be the same as him.

They with never replace Gaara.

 **How was it? Again, sorry it was kind of a filler, but I had to get back into my rhythm before sending the gang to the Land of Waves. The next chapter is going to be the entire MISSION TO THE LAND OF WAVES Arc. So, being such a huge undertaking, I would love some REVIEWS, and though PMs are much appreciated, I would love it even more if they were posted as reviews!**

 **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER THAT IS THE** _ **WHOLE MISSION TO THE LAND OF WAVES ARC!**_


	5. C-Ranked Mission and Tazuna

**Hey everyone! I know I said I would post the Land of Waves arc next, but I found I wrote more than I anticipated for the beginning part, so I'm giving you this, and the entire Land of Waves arc is going to be next for sure this time! Read, Enjoy, Review!**

Reiko stood still with her hands in the tiger seal, her brown eyes darting at things that weren't in front of her. Kakashi Sensei stood next to her, mildly impressed with a second from the worst Genin having a new jutsu under her belt, and one even the infamous Copy Cat Ninja hadn't seen before.

"Found it," Reiko said. "It's not that far ahead of the others."

"Good," Kakashi praised in his own way as he relayed the information to the rest of the squad. "Keep an eye on it in case things go wrong."

"Yes, Kakashi Sensei."

Even if he hadn't said anything, Reiko would have done it anyway. She had been vastly improving on her chakra control for this jutsu, but she also wanted to test how long she could hold it. It would be valuable on missions and when she pushed herself when training.

Reiko listened to the static, assuming the others were calling in their positions. Just as Kakashi was warning Naruto to go slowly, something rather difficult for the blonde, Reiko's eyes darted to the side as Kei followed the target as it moved.

"Sensei!" Reiko said urgently. "The target's on the move!"

"That target has moved!" the man relayed into the communicator. "Follow it!"

Kei swooped in low as Reiko mentally asked him to keep close so they won't lose sight of it. He weaved in between the trees as the target dashed evasively through the bushes. Kei landed in a tree as the target stopped moving. He looked around so Reiko could see Sakura and Sasuke converge on the scene, hidden behind trees, while Naruto hid on a thick branch.

"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.

Reiko heard the static as they responded, watching through her partner's eyes as the three Genin tensed up in anticipation for the attack. Kakashi gave the signal and the three shinobi leapt from their spots and converged on the target. Naruto was the first to grab the feline, holding the struggling creature as it proceeded to repeatedly rake its claws over Naruto's face and any other exposed flesh. Reiko saw that Sakura watched as the boy struggled with an amused expression while Sasuke stood a bit off to the side with his back to the blonde idiot.

"Can you verify the ribbon attached to the right ear?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Reiko replied, knowing from Kei's vision, as she heard the static of Sasuke's response, also confirming it.

Reiko saw Naruto being beaten by the cat and asked Kei if he could do something about it. Kei grudgingly accepted the task, despite having fun watching the boy struggle, something that apparently became the birds past time. Reiko thanked him before cutting the connection. She blinked away the blurry vision that always came after the optical connection from what she called the Birds Eye View Jutsu, even though it sounded corny and really stupid.

"Right. Lost Pet Tora: Captured. Mission Accomplished."

Reiko smiled triumphantly, happy that her new jutsu was finally used on a mission, if one could call this task a mission. They only needed to find some rich woman's cat that apparently had a habit of running away, or, how the woman said, getting lost. Although, this was the most ninja-like mission they've had so far, considering they actually used some of their training to complete it.

"Can't we get a better mission than this? I hate cats!" Naruto suddenly shouted into his communicator, making Kakashi stumble under the screeching of the electronics. Reiko inwardly chuckled at the scene before she walked with her sensei back to the Academy to finish the mission.

"Aw, my poor Tora," the large lady cooed, rubbing her cheek against the sobbing cats face. Reiko had never seen an animal cry before, but she completely understood in this horrible situation. No wonder the cat always ran away. The moor thing was being nearly smothered to death in the woman's large breasts. "Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzzy-kins, yes."

"Stupid cat," Naruto laughed maniacally as he scratched the back of his head. "That kitty deserves to be squashed."

"No wonder it ran away," Sakura commented, looking at the pitiful creature with concern.

"Who allowed someone like her to have an animal?" Reiko asked incredulously with raised eyebrows. "A more disturbing question is how many animals has she smothered to death?"

Kei shifted uncomfortably on her leather clad arm, grateful for the fact that he never had to put up with such demeaning behavior. When he thought about it, Reiko never even punished him for slicing her arm up. He had acted to protect her, but he has seen humans treat animals cruelly even when they did was they were told.

The only reason Kei is with Reiko is Hakuoh had personally asked him. He didn't know what kind of person 'Reiko' would be, but he never expected a small little girl. He underestimated her abilities at first, but quickly found out how strong she was – mentally, physically, and emotionally. She constantly kept the predatory bird on his talons, so to say.

Plus, she treated him with respect. She never talked down to him for being an animal, and never ordered him around like some privileged master. She asked him to do things, except in dire situations when he readily complied anyway. She even asked his opinion on things, as if he was her equal. He learned that she actually did see him as her equal, her partner, not just something to be used and discard.

Even after he injured her, though unintentional, she never once blamed him. She understood his intentions without even needing to ask. She trusted him more than he thought, and in return he decided to put his trust in her as well.

When they went out that same day, she went into a store to buy sleeves made of a thick black leather. The leather reached down to her wrists and rounded over her shoulders. The two piece of leather were connected by durable straps that tightened over her shoulder blades in the back and just under her collar bone in the front.

She still wore her white bandages underneath because the leather would chaff her skin to the point of bleeding, but she never complained about it. She bought those sleeves for Kei's benefit so he could grip easier and tighter, without worrying about hurting her. Apparently, she could see how guilty he felt after hurting her in such a way.

"Now," the Hokage said, puffing his pipe as he gained the groups attention. "For Squad Seven's next mission, we have several available tasks." He held a slip of paper and looked over the assignments for Genin. "Huh? Among them, babysitting the Chief Counselor's three-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes –"

"No!" Naruto complained loudly, interrupting the Hokage. He crossed his arms in front of him to form an 'X' as he ranted disrespectfully. "I wanna go on a real mission – something challenging and exciting – not this little kid stuff! Come on, Old Man!"

Sasuke looked as if he silently agreed with what the boy said, but didn't express it well. Only Reiko could tell from being on his team for so long and not being as blind as the other two. Sakura looked annoyed, but still begrudgingly agreeing. Reiko nodded in agreement, but crossed her arms and glared at Naruto for being so disrespectful to the Hokage, the man who allowed her to stay in the village and gave her the chance to start a new life, something she would always be grateful for and could never repay.

"I knew this was coming," Kakashi sighed in defeat. He was hoping this wouldn't happen until later.

"How dare you!" Iruka Sensei shouted angrily from his spot next to the elder, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands on the table. "You're just a brand new Genin with no experience! Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!"

"Are you serious?" Naruto shouted back just as angrily, though more frustrated than actually enraged. "Babysitting is not a mission, it's just a stupid –"

Naruto was silenced when Kakashi punched him on top of his head, sending the boy face first into the floor, letting out a fantastic yowl as he fell. Reiko crouched down next to him, one hand on her knee, the other idly poking the blonde's side as his leg twitched comically.

"Would you put a lid on it?" Kakashi sighed in embarrassment.

"You kind of deserved it," Reiko said in irritation.

"Naruto!" the Hokage called, his voice louder than it usually was. Naruto yowled again as he flipped backward onto his backside holding his head where the Jounin hit him. "It seems you do not understand the tasks that you have been given." Naruto quieted and looked to the man with wide, child-like eyes as he held his pipe in his hand. "Listen, many different kinds of requests come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassination." He gestured to the marked up scrolls on the table before him with his pipe. "These requests are carefully recorded, analyzed, and then ranked A, B, C, or D, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by ability: Hokage at the top, Jounin, Chuunin, and Genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and assigned them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience. And if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work. Since you are untried Genin just starting down the shinobi path, you are given D level assignments of course." The Hokage paused in his explanation as he heard another voice that he knew very well. "Hmm?"

Reiko, who had been politely listening to the Hokage's explanation, blinked as she also heard the loud voice that was coming from right beside her. She glanced over to find Naruto sitting cross legged on the ground, his back facing the Hokage in a disrespectful manner, as he animatedly talked to the rest of the team, including Kakashi Sensei, about different kinds of ramen.

"Silence!" the Hokage commanded, making Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi looked up at him.

Kakashi Sensei at least looked rather embarrassed as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head in a very Naruto-like fashion. "Oh," he said, his eyes crinkled in a way that Reiko assumed an apologetic smile was gracing his face under his mask. "Sorry."

"Gah!" Naruto yelled as he spun to face the Hokage, still sitting on the ground. "You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But, I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now, and I want a ninja mission!" Naruto grunted and spun back around, crossing his arms and a stubborn pout on his face.

Kakashi held the back of his head with his hand again, bowing his head forward as he sighed helplessly. Sometimes, there was nothing he could do about Naruto. "I'm going to hear about this later," he grumbled.

"Naruto, you disrespectful brat!" Reiko yelled in a hushed fashion as she smacked the boy upside the head. She grabbed the front of his jacket and dragged him up to stare him in the face, shaking him as she scolded him in whispers. "The Hokage is the leader for a reason and you will give him the respect he deserves or you'll never get another meal! Do you hear me?"

The Hokage chuckled and puffed his pipe, startling Reiko from her scolding of the boy as if she just remembered that she was in the presence of the one who gave her a second chance at life. "Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat – he's a _former_ brat – and he wants a mission. So be it."

"Huh?" Naruto asked in confusion at such a statement, Sasuke and Sakura showing their own astonishment as well.

"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission," the Hokage continued, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers. "You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

"Really?" Naruto asked, excitement lacing his tone as he looked at the man with hopeful eyes.

"Lord Hokage," Reiko started, but her voice trailed off. Her grip on Naruto's jacket went slack and he jumped to his feet.

The Hokage didn't look mad. Actually, he looked more amused than anything. She knew that the elder had a soft spot for Naruto, but this is the first time she's witnessed it like this. It's like he's a getting more special treatment than the leniency he's been given for his troublemaking tendencies in the past. The village leader gave the orphan girl a nod, acknowledging that she didn't want to be a bother, but waving it off.

"Yes!" Naruto cried out. "Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess or some big wig counselor?"

"Don't be so impatient," the man smirked, as if he was laughing at some secret joke. "I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor!"

The entire squad turned to the door behind them curiously. Who was so important that they needed someone to protect them on their journey? Surely, Reiko reasoned, it couldn't be someone too high profile since it was only a C-ranked mission. Just what kind of person would they be guarding? How long will the journey be?

The door slid open slowly, revealing a middle aged man leaning heavily against the doorjamb. Reiko raised a brow at the bottle of sake held loosely in his hand. The man had graying hair with a rope tied around his forehead and a matching colored goatee. His tan face was flushed from the sake, easily visible behind his thin framed glasses. A white towel hung around his neck, over his plain vest and similar pants. A nondescript pack was on his back, a bedroll strung to the top.

"What the – a bunch of little snot nosed kids and pet?" the man slurred, narrowing his slightly clouded eyes at the group before taking another long drink from his bottle. Reiko and Kei bristled at his comment. "What kind of ninja bring their oversized parakeets with them?" Kei whistled angrily and had to be calmed down by the girl, even though she wanted to smack him into the middle of next year with his own bottle of alcohol. He pointed to Naruto next. "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe that you're a ninja?"

"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his – ," Naruto laughed heartily until he noticed Sakura and Sasuke glancing at him, Reiko still distract from trying to calm down Kei, who was flapping his wings in a frenzy in an attempt to get around his partner to the drunk in the door. "Huh?" Then, the blonde realized that other than Reiko, who was off to the side, that the shortest one in the direction of the man's pointed finger was himself. "I'll demolish you! Let me get my hands on him!"

"You can't demolish the client, Naruto," Kakashi explained calmly, easily holding the boy by the back of his jacket. Reiko was grateful, since she wasn't sure she could hold back an angrily raptor half her size and Naruto at the same time. "It doesn't work that way."

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country," the man said after another drink, as if oblivious to the distress he's put almost half the squad through. "I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving up your life."

"Where are you from anyway?" Reiko asked with a slight, having sent Kei out through the window to cool down. Naruto was still struggling in Kakashi's hold, shouting about wanting to beat the other man into a bloody pulp.

"The Land of Waves," Tazuna replied, looking the girl up and down skeptically, obviously doubting her capabilities. "And it's not a place for weak little girls. You and your pink-haired friend should stay behind." The shorter girl could almost feel the anger radiating off of Sakura at the insult. Although, Reiko thought of the other kunoichi as weak, it wasn't some old civilian's place to judge.

"Why, you –," Reiko growled, lunging forward much like the blonde was trying to do.

Kakashi, who was occupied with Naruto, couldn't grab Reiko as well, but Sasuke stepped in. The taller boy grabbed the girl by her biceps. Sasuke wasn't expecting Reiko to be as strong as she was, and she easily ripped one of her arms free as she swung and kicked wildly, just like Naruto. Sasuke had a vague thought that Reiko seemed to have Naruto-like tendencies from what he could only assume was from being around the drop-out most of the time. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he wrapped his now free arm around her waist and dragged her back a few feet.

"We will accomplish our mission, rest assured," Kakashi Sensei said to the man, his eye closed in a smile that everyone, but the bridge builder, could tell was fake. "I will have my team to home to pack and we will meet you at the village gates in an hour."

Tazuna grunted and walked down the hallway, leaving Naruto and Reiko still fuming in their restraining holds. Reiko huffed and elbowed Sasuke in the stomach, surprising him, and jerked free. She stomped over to Naruto, knocked him lightly upside the head, and proceeded to drag him out by his arm.

"See you in an hour," the girl said, her voice oddly void of emotion and a frown on her lips.

Sasuke felt curiosity tug at his mind from her strange behavior, and Kakashi wondered what could be running through the girls mind as well. The man knew the Hokage had taken in the girl when she was young, but even after questioning her for a long time, she never said a word of where she came from. From what the Jounin heard, she hadn't really spoken at all. Despite all that, the Hokage still allowed her to stay, apparently believing she posed no threat to the safety of the village.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked seriously, looking the Hokage in the eye.

When Reiko had been adopted into the village, many shinobi had been doubtful, Kakashi being one of them. Over the years, the majority of those who had opposed the Hokage's decision found that she really was just an unfortunate orphan with a painful past, something many shinobi had. However, she stumbled to Konoha in torn, dirty clothes and was covered in dried blood that wasn't all hers. Something had happened to her, but no one knew what. Kakashi was concerned that whatever happened outside the village walls may affect Reiko, and therefore the mission.

Sasuke looked the Jounin beside him, Sakura glancing between her sensei and the Hokage worriedly.

"She is strong," the Hokage replied sagely. He took a deep inhale from his pipe before slowly blowing out the smoke.

Sasuke and Sakura waited for him to say something else, but he was silent as Kakashi ushered the youngsters out so they could have time to pack. The two Genin were perplexed with what they just heard.

"Were they talking about Reiko?" Sakura thought aloud, looking concerned.

"Who knows," Sasuke muttered in response with a shrug. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know much about Reiko at all. Sakura was a girl, and had some kunoichi class with her as well. Maybe she knew something. "What do you know about Reiko?"

"All I know is that she's really close with Naruto," Sakura said honestly, trying to recall anything about the unusual girl. "She doesn't really talk too much, and when she does, it's not about herself. She would always deflect personal questions. I wonder why that is…"

Sakura trailed off, finding that Sasuke was no longer beside her. She sighed in disappointment and headed towards her house to pack. The first time Sasuke ever really talked to her and he asked about another girl. She would have been jealous if it wasn't Reiko, but even if it was, Sakura wouldn't give up until Sasuke was hers.

Reiko only packed the bare essentials into her black pack when she entered her room. She threw in a change of clothes, bandages and some other first aid essentials, some protein bars, and soldier pills in case of an emergency. She was tying a bedroll on top, making sure the knots were secure, when her eyes strayed to the floor next to her bed. Her movements slowed until she stopped completely.

She glanced out her bedroom door, hearing Naruto making a lot of noise from his own room, making sure the coast was clear. She knelt by her bed and slid out the box she had opened only a few days ago after it being shut tight for years. She took a deep breath to calm her mind before lifting the lid. She saw the two pictures on top, and stared at them for a long moment before gently picking them up. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stashed them in her pouch. She snapped the locks back in place and slid it far beneath the furniture once more.

"I'm leaving first," Reiko called as she slid her arms through the straps, tightening them appropriately. "I'll meet you at the gates in half an hour. Don't be late, Naruto!"

Naruto yelled an affirmative response, too busy trying to figure out what to bring to really listen to what she was saying.

Reiko jogged through the streets until she finally reached the Yamanaka flower shop, where Ino was once again behind the counter.

"Going out on a mission?" Ino asked curiously as she put together the usual bouquet.

"Looks like it," Reiko responded, already retrieving the money owed from her coin purse.

"Lucky! All we've been doing is small stuff around the village. I wish I could get out there too," Ino said, pouting slightly.

"I don't think it'll take long. We should be back before you know it. I know you'd miss Sakura if we're gone too long," Reiko teased with a smirk.

"As if!" Ino fumed. "I'm just worried about my Sasuke! Who knows what the Billboard Brow will do to him!" The bell chimed as another customer walked in, bringing Ino's attention to the front. Her face immediately brightened when her eyes landed on the newcomer. "Sasuke! I'm so glad you visited me! Reiko says you're going a mission. I bet you wanted to tell me not to worry about you right?"

Reiko paid the beaming girl for the bouquet and picked it up. She turned to see her teammate staring right at her, despite Ino trying to get his attention. His eyes studied her face before looking down at the bouquet in her hands.

"Who are the flowers for?" Sasuke asked blandly, completely ignoring the girl behind the counter.

"Why do you care?" Reiko asked suspiciously. Why would Sasuke show an interest in the flowers she bought? He wasn't acting like the usual Sasuke.

"I don't," he grunted, shrugging indifferently. "I just don't need someone being late and holding up the mission because they wanted to give flowers to their boyfriend or something."

"Huh?" Reiko responded dumbly, not quite comprehending what Sasuke just said. It wasn't normal.

"Reiko, you have a boyfriend?" Ino squealed excitedly. "Why didn't you tell me? Who is it? Is he cool? Is he handsome?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, Ino," Reiko sputtered with wide eyes, waving her hands frantically. "I don't have a boyfriend! I don't even know why Sasuke would even think that." Reiko glanced at the boy from the corner of her eye, but his face was expressionless as usual.

"Oh," Ino pouted, but then a sly smirk stretched across her face. "Well, who are the flowers for then? You buy them a lot."

"While I would love to spill all the intimate details of my life," Reiko started, backing away from the advancing Ino, who looked like she was about to pounce on her prey. "Like Sasuke said, we have a mission and I can't be late. So, I'll see you later!"

"Don't think this is over!" she heard Ino shout after her as she bolted out of the shop.

Reiko fled down the street, leaving Sasuke behind in her haste to get away from the prying blonde. She was far from comfortable telling anyone about herself, and Naruto barely knew anything either. He only knew that she was an orphan like him and that she came from outside the village. He seemed to know that she didn't want to talk about her past, and he didn't pry.

She found herself gasping for breath as she made it to the memorial stone in record time. She didn't even realize she was running that fast. She replaced the bouquets, burning the old one and letting the ashes blown away in the wind she created to clean the stone. She was still panting when she finished, staring without seeing at the monument.

She thought about how she just ran away from Ino. She was only a little curious, but Reiko felt like she was trying to pry into her dark past even. She knew Ino wasn't trying to do anything of the sort, but the masked girl panicked and ran.

She absently reached towards her pouch and slipped out one of the photos. She looked at the picture – it was the one when she was lying on Gaara's lap. She thumbed the image, her mind reeling back to the past that she had locked away in her head long ago. Reiko didn't know how long she was standing there, but she was jerked back from her memories when a high and loud whistle blew through the air.

She gasped and spun around to find Kei perched in a tree above Sasuke. He stood with one hand on the tree, staring straight into Reiko's wide eyes. She felt her heart leap in her chest, panic racing through her veins. She straightened and took a deep breath, forcing the panic down.

"What, are you following me, now, Sasuke?" Reiko tried to smirk with a hand on her hip, but it turned into a grimace.

Sasuke remained silent as he walked up to her, and she hoped that he couldn't tell her heart was still pounding in her chest. Sasuke wasn't fooled by her attempt to act like her normal self. He figured even Naruto could tell that something was wrong. Something was bothering her, and he could tell it started with Ino in the flower shop.

"W-What are you doing?" Reiko stuttered, stepping back when Sasuke grew too close, but he didn't stop until he stood right in front of her.

He never looked away from her eyes that clearly reflected the fear she felt. Why was she so scared? What could make her so fearful? He glanced behind her, noticing the fresh flowers on the memorial stone, and realized that it was the same bouquet that was on the monument during their survival test. So, she had been the one leaving the flowers, but why would she do that? Where her parents' names on that stone? He noticed something in her hand, but she quickly hid it in her pouch before he could get a good look. When he locked eyes with her again, her eyes were guarded, but a vulnerability lay beneath.

"So, you bring the flowers here," Sasuke commented blankly. Reiko nodded silently, eyes still wide. Sasuke tilted his head towards the monument. "Your parents?" he asked simply, but Reiko knew what he meant and shook her head vigorously and stepped back, turning away from him.

"No," she denied quietly, looking down at the ground and rubbing her arm nervously. She knew Sasuke didn't believe her little act, and found no reason to keep it up.

"Then why?" Sasuke probed. If she wasn't honoring her parents' death, then why would she put flowers at the memorial?

"These people gave their lives to protect this village," Reiko said plainly, shifting her feet in slight discomfort at discussing the topic. She found herself compelled to talk a little about her personal life, but she couldn't figure out why. "Most people don't know this, but I wasn't born in this village. I came upon the Hidden Leaf Village while I was running, and the Hokage allowed me to stay." Sasuke's brow furrowed as he took in the information, storing it for later.

"I was in bad shape when they found me, and would have died if they hadn't taken me in," Reiko continued. "They had no reason or obligation to, but they did anyway. The Hokage saved my life, and this village wouldn't be here if the shinobi engraved on this stone hadn't sacrificed themselves to protect it." He saw a smile tug at her lips, but it looked sad and empty. "In a way, I feel like they deserve as much thanks as the Hokage does, I guess. I don't know. I'm probably not making any sense." She shook her head and turned towards the village gates, walking past a stoic Sasuke. "Let's get going. We're going to be late."

Sasuke said nothing as he followed the kunoichi. He had a feeling that she shared some intimate secret with him, but he had an even greater feeling that he barely scratched the surface of the mysterious girl that was attracting more of his interest than he would like to admit.

Just who was Reiko?

 **Just a reminder that I WON'T POST THE NEXT CHAPTER UNTIL I GET AT LEAST 1 REVIEW! However, the more reviews I get, the faster the chapter gets posted. Take into account the huge undertaking for a single chapter, and it's going to take a while to write, but the more reviews I get, the more motivated I get to write it up faster!**


End file.
